Naruto Shippūden: The Truth Behind The Lies
by DaaNi-ChAn
Summary: Sequel to I Can't Let You Go. It's been six months since Naruto's death, or so Sakura thought. Sakura x Naruto. Plz R
1. Ch:1

Alright, alright, since I can't ignore the readers' requests of a new chapter or sequel, I decided to REALLY write a sequel. Here it is! I hope you guys like it.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and it's not by any means mine. And the song is not mine also. Only the story is mine because it's created in my head

**Summary:** a couple of months have passed since Naruto's death…or so Sakura thought. Summary sucks! Please R&R. This IS a Sakura x Naruto story, ye be warned!!

REMINDER: This story was written before I knew who Sai was. So if he's a bit OOC, bare with me.

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies**

"Could you guys help me out here?" Sakura yelled, calling out her two best friends. She was redecorating her room, deciding to have a top cabinet over her desk. The problem was that the cabinet was too heavy and she was standing on a very unstable chair.

"You Guys!!" She yelled, almost losing her balance. Sakura could hear footsteps rushing up the stairs. Soon, both Lee and Sai came running inside the room, with Sai going right to Sakura, holding her waist while Lee took over the mission of handling the cabinet.

"I got it!" Lee exclaimed, grinning. Sai chuckled, "Oh, and I got some too!" he said, grinning stupidly at Lee while still holding Sakura's slender waist. Both of them chuckled before they realized they've both been hit in the head by a very angry Sakura.

"You guys are idiots!" She said, stepping down the chair, with Sai's hands still on her waist. Sakura looked at him to see him grinning big. She slapped his hand away.

"Baka!" she said, her angry expression soon changed into an amused one once she saw a goofy smile on both of their faces. Sakura chuckled, shook her head and walked off, leaving the two to fix her room.

"I'm going out for a walk, you guys." She said, going down the stairs. She didn't get a reply so she realized they were already too busy. She walked towards the hangers next to the door and took her dark blue jacket and her orange winter hat, the favorite colors of her best friends. She smiled sadly before putting both of them on.

Sakura opened the door to her house, walking out, and took a deep breath. It was December and the weather was getting very cold. She hugged her arms and rubbed them, before clasping her hands together and warmed them with her breath.

It's been a little bit over 6 months since she lost Uzumaki Naruto, her best friend. Since then, she decided to move out from living with her parents to living alone in a house a block away from her parents', using the money she earned from the missions.

During that time, she's been constantly visited by Sai and Lee, until they've become closer to her than anybody else. Though they can't take Naruto's and Sasuke's place, they sure made her dark days brighter. They sometime goof around, making her laugh her head off and sometimes they just spend the night at her place, watching over her like a pair of overprotective brothers.

Sakura looked at the sky and sighed, walking away from her house, away from the noise made by Lee and Sai.

A couple of minutes later, she reached the place where she first wanted to go. Sakura pushed the door and walked in, to see Ino, behind the counter, laughing along with Chouji and Shikamaru. Once they saw her come inside the Yamanaka flower shop, they went quiet. Sakura smiled, shaking her head.

"You guys don't have to do that anymore." She said, walking in with a smile on her face. Ino smiled, "w-well, y-you see…" she tried to explain, but she realized there was nothing to be said. Shikamaru looked at her and rolled his eyes. Chouji looked at the two and decided to explain, himself.

"Whatever she means by that, she means that she, well, didn't want to be laughing because of…you know" Chouji said, looking at the ground. Sakura nodded, looking at all three of them.

"Thank you for being considerate, but you don't have to do that anymore, I'm completely over it!" she said, chuckling, yet the Ino-Shika-Chou trio realized that wasn't completely true, they all knew that she still cried at night from time to time, but they decided to ignore that fact.

"OK then" Ino said, "how can I help you?" she asked, leaning on the counter, smiling at her friend. Sakura exchanged the look and smiled back, telling Ino what she wanted.

A couple of minutes later, Sakura went out the door, her friends waving goodbye at her. She looked back, nodded at them with a smile on her face and continued on her destination with an Iris flower in her hand. She was going to the graveyard to visit him.

_'It's been a while, Naruto'_ she thought, taking the only road that led to the graveyard.

In a matter of minutes, she reached the graveyard's gate and slowly walked in. The atmosphere brought back the memories of his death. Sakura remembered that they've never told her how he died; they've just knocked on her door and told her the painful truth.

She took a couple of steps before reaching a certain part of the graveyard, the Konoha no Shinobi cemetery, where Konoha Ninja's and Hokage's are buried.

Sakura paid her respect to the previous Hokages before moving along towards his grave, which was right next to Fourth's.

She knelt in front of his grave, placing the Iris on it. Sakura smiled, closing her eyes.

"It's been a while, Naruto-kun" she said, as if she was talking to him, and opened her eyes. She knew he would never reply, but she had this thought in her head that he was able to hear her. She liked that idea and it certainly helped her through a lot.

"Everything's still the same after you left. Jiraiya is still writing his novels and Kakashi is still his number one fan. They're going to release a movie about it soon, you know?" she said, chuckling, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Lee and Gai-sensei are still the same; their _youth_ talk never stops, not even for just a bit. Sai has started to open up to us a little bit" she continued, telling him everything that's happened in the past couple of months. The graveyard was so quiet that her voice was almost echoing across the place.

"Kiba and Hinata are spending a lot of time together; people are starting to think there might be something going on between the two. Especially that he's been there for her during the mourning period of time" she said, looking at his grave, touching it.

"Hyuuga Hanabi has been promoted to Chuunin, which was great news to the Hyuuga's. Speaking of which, Lee, Gai-sensei and all of the others are trying to get Neji and Tenten together, since they're totally in love with each other, yet they're not aware of it" she said, smiling. Sakura frowned and went silent for a couple of minutes. She sighed heavily, looking at the Konoha symbol on the grave.

"I lied when I said that everything's the same" she said. Sakura grimaced once she felt tightness in her chest and tears in her eyes. "Everyone is missing you in their own way." She said, her tears strolling down her cheek, but they were quickly wiped away.

Sakura chuckled, "and I promised myself not to cry anymore. I don't want you to think that I'm weak, but I am; without you, Naruto-kun" she said, sobbing. She wished he was here to tell her it'd be OK, to protect her like he always did, but she realized that she was on her own. Sakura smiled sadly, looking at his grave.

"But, I'll be sure to visit you from time to time. I promise, Naruto-kun" she said, bringing her hands together and praying silently for him.

A couple of seconds later she got up, touched his grave and walked off. She stopped a couple of steps away, taking one last look at his grave like she always did and walked off.

As soon as she was out of the perimeter of the graveyard, Sakura stopped in her tracks and shuddered as she heard a voice, calling her.

"..._Sakura..._"

She turned her head to the side before turning around, looking across the graveyard. To her surprise, no one was there. She knotted her eyebrows.

_'Who is calling me?' _she thought, narrowing her eyes before turning back to continue on her way. She froze once she felt a hand on her shoulder, a very cold hand.

"Sakura…" the voice was closer. Sakura gasped as she recognized the voice.

_'That voice, it only belongs to…'_ she thought as her eyes watered slowly. "Naruto-kun" she mumbled, not being able to move.

"Sakura-chan..." the owner of the voice said, causing Sakura to turn around, she gasped once she saw it was none other than Naruto, scraped and wounded, looking at her with a hurt expression.

"H-Help m-me" he mumbled, as his hand was reaching up to her face. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath...

* * *

Sakura screamed as she shot up in her bed, gasping and panting, fully covered in sweat.

Her door was jerked open, Sai and Lee both were standing at the doorway, looking at Sakura.

"Sakura-san," Lee said, walking to her bed, "are you OK?" he said, sitting on the bed. Sakura was still panting, looking around for any sign of Naruto.

_'Was it a dream?'_

Sai was still standing at the doorway, dressed in dark red pajama pants and black top. He sighed and went inside the room. "Is there anything you want, Sakura?" he asked, crossing his arms. Sakura looked at both of them and shook her head, not saying a word.

Sai and Lee exchanged a look that Sakura didn't understand. They both looked at her, smiling.

"It's just a bad dream, Sakura, you just go back to sleep" Lee said, grinning. Sakura smiled and lied back down. Sai looked at her and smiled, pouting his lips.

"You look so innocent when you're about to sleep," he said, leaning down, giving her a kiss on her forehead, "unlike the monster you are when you wake up" he said, chuckling as Sakura punched him in the stomach. Lee pulled him out, saying his good nights to Sakura.

Sakura chuckled before looking at the ceiling, thinking about that dream she had. She narrowed her eyes once she thought about it.

"H-Help m-me"

His words rang in her ear like they were real. It felt so real; everything that has happened was so real. Why was he asking for her help? Was he really doing that, or was it just a dream she had because she's been thinking about him all the time? A couple of minutes of thinking about it made her eyelids feel heavy and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

It was dark, too dark. He could hear faint voices in the distant, but they were too vague. He tried to open his eyes but he couldn't. He was hearing voices, but they weren't very clear

"What….you….ha—san?" he heard the vague voices speak again. He slowly started to make out what they were saying.

"I want you to inject him with 100cc of aqueous Cinnabar, I want him back, you hear me?" a voice, a very familiar male voice said. He felt something sting him in the arm, it didn't matter whether it was left or right, and he knew one thing,

It hurt like hell.

He screamed. His back arching as he tried to get his arms out of whatever held him in place. He felt fire build up inside his body as the liquid ran through his veins. He could hear them talk, hands holding his shoulders and legs. His body felt heavy, he felt his own heart beats go faster and faster by the second, as if it's going to blow up.

"Don't lose him, Damn it!" the voice said again in an angry yet anxious tone. He can feel something flow inside of him. Another sting was felt in his chest, causing him to arch his back one last time before collapsing. He tried to open his eyes, tried to move his muscles but he couldn't, the world seemed to be fading again.

"H-Help m-me" he mumbled, falling unconscious.

* * *

"H-Help m-me"

Sakura's eyes shot open, her breath caught in her throat. She jolted up, sitting in her bed. She looked at her side at the clock. It read 2:35 am. Sakura buried her face in her hands, sighing heavily.

_'That can't be just a dream'_ she thought, getting out of her bed, deciding to tell Lee or Sai about the dreams she's been having. She stopped in her tracks once she saw the cabinet, hanging above her desk. Sakura narrowed her eyes,

"If all that's happened was a dream, then how the hell did this get up there?" she mumbled to herself, knowing that Lee and Sai put it there, knowing that she went to Ino's flower shop and bought an Iris, knowing that she went to the graveyard.

_'and then Naruto asked for my help'_

She sighed; picking her satin maroon robe that was hanging behind her door, and put it on. Sakura opened the door to her bedroom and walked downstairs. The TV was still on and the guys were still up. Sakura sat on the stairs once she heard them talk about something.

"We can't tell her, you know." Sai said, eating ice-cream out of its packet. Lee sighed and nodded,

"Maybe she already knows, we can't tell for sure. I mean, we _did_ find her unconscious back there" he said, eating a spoonful of ice-cream that he shared with Sai. The latter sighed,

"Bottom line is this: We can't tell her, period." He said, shoving the spoon in the ice-cream and getting up. Lee looked at him and frowned.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked, receiving a glare from Sai. "I'm going to sleep, so that I can stay _youthful_ forever" he said, mocking Lee's devotion for youth power. Sai chuckled before looking at the stairs and stopping in his tracks. Lee turned off the TV, got up and punched Sai on the shoulder, the latter showing no sign of emotion.

"You know that's not—" he said, looking at the stairs to see Sakura sitting down, "funny." He continued, looking at their pink-haired friend. She got up, walking towards the two.

"What?" she asked, crossing her arms, "What is it that you don't want to tell me?" she asked. Lee and Sai exchanged looks before Sai walked past Sakura and went upstairs, "Good night." he said, running up the stairs, he looked at Lee and gave him thumbs up, mouthing 'Good luck' to his friend before running up to his room, leaving Sakura and Lee together, alone.

"So?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. Lee blinked a couple of times, turning around to avoid her gaze.

"It's nothing, go back to sleep" he said, looking at the ground. Sakura walked towards and around him, looking at him straight in the eye.

"That wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, forcing Lee to look at her. He moved his mouth to speak, but the words weren't coming out. He took a deep breath and looked away.

"We'll talk about this in the morning—"

"—No! We'll talk about this _now_" she yelled, causing him to stare at her. Sakura blinked a couple of times, looking at the ground, mentally cursing herself.

"I-I'm sorry, Lee" she said, looking at the ground. Lee nodded and walked towards the stairs, up to his own room. Sakura sighed, and moved towards the couch, sitting down.

"Stupid Sakura!" she said, lying on the couch. She stared at the ceiling, the image of injured Naruto popped in her head again.

"It's all in my head" she said, getting off the couch. She decided that it's best for her to get some sleep. As soon as she climbed up the stairs and went into her room, she took off her robe and hung it in its place, threw herself on the bed and crawled beneath the covers.

Sakura sighed, "What are they hiding from me?" she mumbled, closing her eyes and trying to clear the thoughts out of her head. She managed to do so, falling asleep.

The next morning, once she got up, she went straight to the bathroom. In a few minutes, she was dressed in her favorite dark red long-sleeved zipper shirt and light grey ¾ spandex pants and her usual light pink skirt. Sakura strapped her bandage around her right thigh, over the pants, placed her ninja equipment case in place and wore her grey sandals.

"This is going to be one hell of a morning" she said, reaching for the comb. Once she's brushed her hair, Sakura tied her new dark red forehead protector on her head. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before reaching for her grey gloves and walked out the door.

Sakura walked down the stairs, noticing that there was no sign of her two roommates. She walked towards the couch to find the place a mess; the ice-cream packet still in place and the couch's cushions were all over the place. She sighed, tidying up the room. In a few minutes she sat on the couch, thinking about the previous night's events.

Sakura sighed heavily as she heard footsteps down the stairs; she turned her head and looked at the stairs to see her friends. Sai walked towards the fridge while Lee walked towards her, sitting next to her on the couch. Both haven't said any word while Lee reached for the remote, turning on the TV. Sakura looked between the two as they silently sat, watching TV.

Sai walked towards the couch and sat down, an ice-cream packet was in his hand, he picked up the spoon and enjoyed his ice-cream. After eating a spoonful, he passed the packet to Lee, ignoring Sakura who kept staring at the two.

"You want some, buddy?" he asked, getting a nod from his friend who took it without moving his eyes away from the TV.

Sakura looked at the two, sighing and looking at the TV, causing the two to look at her and laugh their heads off.

Sakura looked back and forth between the two. "What's wrong with you two?" she asked, shaking her head. Lee and Sai looked at each other and laughed,

"We just love to see ya get angry from time to time. You look cute like that" Sai said, hugging her. Sakura rolled her eyes, hating the mushiness.

"Hey! Why do you get to hug her and I don't?" Lee asked, crossing his arms. Sai looked over Sakura's head and extended his tongue on Lee, causing the latter to narrow his eyes and hug Sakura in the process, sandwiching her between both of them. Sakura closed her eyes and counted to 10, when they didn't move away. She used her inhuman strength and pushed them away, causing both of them to fly off of the couch.

"Idiots!" she mumbled, getting off of the couch. "There's no use of me staying here" she said, walking out the door. Both Lee and Sai got up, rubbing their forearms, where Sakura has shoved them.

"Do you think she's upset?" Lee asked, causing Sai to narrow his eyes at him, "Of course she is!" he exclaimed, both looking at each other before they rushed out of the door, following Sakura.

Sakura was walking along the empty street. She wasn't surprised, it was 7 am and the weather was freezing. She cursed herself once she realized that she'd forgotten to wear her jacket. In a matter of seconds, she felt someone place a jacket on her shoulders.

"We figured you might be cold" Lee exclaimed as he walked next to Sakura, smiling at Sakura who simply ignored him. Sai walked to her other side and smiled.

"You're upset, aren't you?" he asked, not receiving any reply from the pink haired friend. Both Sai and Lee looked at each other before stepping in front of Sakura, stopping her in her tracks.

"Do you want to know what's wrong?" Sai asked. His serious expression was feared by Sakura who narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly.

Lee looked at Sai and nodded, turning his head to the side. Sai sighed and turned around, walking away. Lee looked at Sakura and motioned to her to follow them. Sakura nodded and followed suit.

"Last night, you were at the graveyard, right?" Sai started. Sakura, who was in the middle, nodded and looked impatiently at her friend.

"What did you see?" He asked, stopping in his place. Sakura looked at the ground, remembering Naruto's cold hand on her shoulder, his pleadings for her to help him.

"You saw something, didn't you?" Lee asked, causing the girl to sharply turn her head to face him. She knew who he was talking about. Sakura grimaced and nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"When you didn't come back last night, we got so worried. So," Sai said, pausing for a minute as he slid his cold hands in his pockets to warm them. "Lee and I knew you were going to visit Naruto. When we got there, we found you, unconscious, mumbling his name over and over again, telling him not to leave again." Sai continued, looking at his Friend. Sakura wasn't sure where that was going.

"We were sure something has happened to you while visiting Naruto, so I told Sai that I was going to check inside the graveyard" Lee continued, looking at the ground. Sakura shook her head, waiting for her friends to continue.

"And? What happened?!" she asked impatiently, causing the guys to look at each other before looking at Sakura.

"Naruto's grave," Lee started, looking at Sai before turning his head around. "it was disinterred" he said, causing Sakura to gape at them, not believing what she was hearing. Sai took a step closer to his shocked friend and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Somebody took Naruto's body and we're trying our best to see who did that." he said, looking at the Ground. "I'm sorry, Sakura-san" Lee said, looking at the ground. Sakura's tears slowly made their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She remembered his words, his pleadings, and his cry for help.

"H-Help m-me"

* * *

"_N_a_r_u_t_o…" a dreadful, chilling, deep and monstrous voice made him open his eyes. He found himself standing in a dark room, only lit by a few candles. He looked at his feet to see that he was standing in a knee length pool of water.

"…_N_a_r_u_t_o…"

The voice continued its calling. Naruto looked around, finding the place a bit too familiar.

He took a couple of steps along the long corridor, sometimes having to lean on the wall because of the water. At the end of the corridor, he reached a huge gate with a paper sealing it, the word "Seal" was written.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're here, at last" the voice exclaimed, a cold wind blew from the inside, causing Naruto to shudder. He narrowed his eyes to see a huge creature inside, locked up in the huge cage.

"As we spoke before, if you die, then I die. I refuse to die now" the voice said, making Naruto smirk. The creature inside growled, causing an enormous wind to blow at Naruto, causing him to take a couple of steps backwards.

"I can help you. Ask for my Chakura" the voice said, forcing Naruto to take a step closer towards the gate. "Let me out." the creature said, its teeth were bare to Naruto. The latter took a step closer, reaching his hand to the seal, His fingers touching the paper. Naruto was able to hear the thirsty breaths the creature was taking, knowing that what he was about to do was wrong yet he wasn't aware of his actions.

His fingers closed on the tip of the paper, "_Yes_, remove it, release the seal" the creature said, "I'll give you strength" its words caused Naruto to close his eyes with a smile on his face. A few seconds have passed, the chilling silence spreading across the room. Only the sound of the seal paper being torn off of the gate was heard.

"Finally, after all these years," the creature said as the gates started to shake, "I'm free!" the creature howled, causing the gates to be jerked open, orange Chakura flowing violently out of the inner area, sending Naruto across the room and slammed against the wall, falling flat on his face.

Naruto struggled to get up on his feet. The second he did, he was faced by an enormous nine-tailed fox, standing up to over 100 meters tall. Naruto's eyes widened as the monster whose nine-tails almost covered the entire area, waving around like they have no end. He froze in his place once the Fox drew its face closer to Naruto, its breath causing every inch of his body to shudder in fear.

"I respect what you've done for me. Now, do you want my help, Uzumaki Naruto?" he spoke out, grinning malevolently at Naruto. the latter nodded. "Yes, I want to get out of wherever the hell I am" Naruto said, smiling at the fox whose bare teeth looked like as if he was smiling, raising its head up and growled as loud as he can. Naruto clasped his hands on his ears, not bearing the echo of the sound. In a matter of seconds, Naruto was felt heavy and collapsed on the ground.

* * *

He opened his eyes suddenly to find himself in some kind of liquid. He tossed his head left and right, looking at his surroundings. Naruto realized he was in some kind of a testing tube. He was only dressed in black shorts, a couple of wires attached to his body which were also attached to some kind of monitors, or so he was able to make out. The liquid he was in made everything so blurry that he could barely make out anything outside.

The skin of his throat was cut open and a tube was inserted into his windpipe to help him breathe in this liquid. He wanted to get out, his hands weren't moving, and his body was floating in the liquid on its own. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the figure, walking towards him.

"It's been a long time, Naruto" a voice said. The voice was very familiar to Naruto, causing him to try to make out who was the speaker.

"It's been almost 2 and a half year, right?" he asked, still walking towards the tube. Naruto could make out the outlines of the person, but not his image as a whole. Dark hair, white shirt, dark pants and abnormally red eyes.

Naruto's eyes widened. _'That voice, those eyes. It can't be'_ Naruto thought as the person walked closer to the tube, resting his hand on the glass.

"What?" the person leaned closer, looking through the glass into his friend's eyes. "Can't you recognize me anymore, Naruto?" he said, smiling slyly. Naruto was speechless, the figure became clearer. He wouldn't mistake that face even if it was in a crowd.

"It's me," he said, raising an eyebrow, his eyes became redder. "Your friend, Sasuke"

* * *

**Cliff-y on the first chapter?! I love me!!! **

**What do ya think? Naruto and Sasuke aren't dead, you guys are happy? **

**If there's anything you guys want to suggest or ask about, feel free to PM me! **

**Please review **


	2. Ch:2

Before I start this chapter, I want you guys to know that I have a couple of reasons why I'm slow with updating:

1) Last week, I was having my finals and I didn't have any time.

2) Several stories like "please remember" and "That night" had to be updated because it's been a while since I last did.

3) I have a life XD. I'm a human person, not a Naruto character typing machine XP

So, I hope you guys understand. So, I apologize for the inconvenience! That goes out for you too, deidara7112!

* * *

**Reviews:**

dbzgtfan2004: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review.

Orrin Glenn: Thanks for the complement. I'm glad you liked it. I'll try to keep it as up as possible XD!

Cesar Ulloa Velasquez: I hope what you wrote at first was a complement! Anyways, thanks for your review. Please stay tuned!

Shouri no Hana: You'll find out the truth behind the lies soon enough. Thanks for your review.

full-metal-sousuke: They'll see each other sooner than you guys think. Thank you for your review!

uzukun7: I actually felt that those two would help her the most because, well, the MANGA readers know that Sai will be on her team and Lee has a crush on her. Thank you for your review!

templar132: Naruto's not insane; he's completely sane and aware of his surroundings xP. I didn't kill anyone…yet. Stay tuned, thanks for your review.

XMatchBookX: I hope it becomes as good as you guys want. Thank you for your kind review.

Himiko231: I will! Thanks for your kind review. Stay tuned!

hi me!!: Hey You! XD. I'm glad you liked it this much. This chapter is yours, friend!

aby101: I'm happy that you liked it XD. Stay tuned!

* * *

Oh, and I would like everyone to know that I'm intending to write a Shino x Hinata one-shot that might be out during the next couple of weeks, if I was able to update my other stories including this one.

* * *

Everyone, Thank you greatly for your beautiful encouraging reviews, it's what keeps me going! THANK YOU! This chapter goes out to you all!

If you didn't notice, I kinda changed the title of this story, Adding "Naruto Shippūden" to it!

Chapter 2, coming right up!

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies, chapter 2:**

Sakura was standing outside Tsunade's office, along with Lee and Sai. The latter looked up from the ground as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. Lee sighed and looked at Sakura.

"Are you positive about whatever you're about to do?" he asked, causing Sai to narrow his eyes, waiting for her answer.

Sakura slowly nodded, "Yes" she said, sighing, and closed her eyes. "His body is out there, somewhere. I won't accept this" she said, firmly. Sai and Lee exchanged looks before they noticed that the door to Tsunade's office was opened.

Shizune walked out the door, holding her note file, smiling at them. "Hey, guys!" she exclaimed, her expression turned into an anxious one once she saw their faces.

"You want to meet Tsunade-sama, I presume?" she asked, receiving a nod from the two Young Chuunins and ANBU member.

Shizune nodded and knocked on the door. "C'mon in" Tsunade's voice said. Shizune opened the door for them, nodding to each and every one of them as they walked in.

* * *

Tsunade was resting her elbow on the table and leaning her chin on her hand, writing the newest reports about the economic status in Konoha. A knock on the door was heard.

"C'mon in" she said, continuing her report. She looked up from her paper work once the door was opened; narrowing her eyes once they walked in

_'I believe they've told her already'_ she said, putting the pencil aside. They all stood in front of the desk, Sai stood on Sakura's right while Sakura stood in the middle, thus making Lee stand on her left. She took a deep breath and leaned her arms on the desk. "What's wrong?" she said, looking at each and every one of them.

Sakura was the first to speak up, taking a deep breath. "Master," she started, making Tsunade listen carefully. "Sai and Lee told me about Naruto's grave's situation." She said, holding back her tears. Tsunade nodded, looking at her desk.

"How can I help you, Sakura?" she said, wanting to help her top apprentice. The latter took a deep breath and exhaled it.

"I want to go on a mission, to find his body and retrieve it" she exclaimed, catching both Lee and Sai off guard, causing them both to gape at her. Tsunade was also surprised with Sakura's request.

"Sakura," she said, getting up, "are you aware of what you're asking for?" she said, resting her hands on the table. Sakura stood firmly, nodding slowly.

"Yes" she said, taking a step closer to the desk, "My duty as his team-mate and his―" she said, looking at the ground, choking on her tears. "My duty as his friend obligates me to find him and bring his body back, so he can rest in peace" she said, looking up right into Tsunade's eyes. The latter looked at the desk, and then looked at Sakura's current teammates.

"Are you two asking for the same request?" she said, causing both to look at each other, before looking at Tsunade and nodding as well.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama" Lee said, nodding. Sai looked at his teammate then at their Hokage, nodding as an agreement. She looked at the desk, sitting down.

"There's only one problem" she said, looking at the three of them. "We have no lead that could help us in finding Naruto's body" she said, looking sadly at the desk, taking a deep breath. She realized that no matter how much time passed, she would never accept the fact that he was dead.

Sakura looked at the ground, her hands balled into fists. Sai and Lee noticed Sakura's tension so they decided to help her.

"Tsunade-sama" Sai said, taking a step forward, standing next to Sakura. "We'll do our best in finding a lead to him" he said, making Sakura look at him, surprised. Lee took a step next to her and spoke up as well.

"They're both right!" he started, causing Sakura to look up at him as well. "Konoha ninja's are always present for each other. As his friends and fellow ninjas, we should do our best to save him" he said, nodding as a confirmation. Sakura was almost brought to tears when her two closest friends stood up with her in helping Naruto.

_'Thank you, guys'_ she thought, looking at Tsunade. The latter took a deep breath and stood up, looking at the ninjas.

"Alright" she said, causing all three to heave a sigh. "You must find whatever information necessary to help us find Naruto and retrieve him. This is your mission and you can freely ask for anything…" she firmly said, before turning her firm expression into a smile, "…I'll be more than glad to help you find him" she said, causing all of them to gape. Tsunade, Hokage-sama, was telling them that she would love to help if there was any problem.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama" Sakura mumbled, surprisingly. "T-Thank you" she said, bowing respectfully. Both Lee and Sai bowed before all of them stood up straight.

Tsunade smiled, "Go, and do your best" she said, giving them an encouraging nod. Sakura smiled and nodded back before turning around and walking out the door, soon followed by Lee and Sai.

Once Sakura was out the door, "Lee. Sai." Tsunade said, causing them to turn around to face her.

"You can tell how emotional she is at the moment." she continued, sitting down, "I want you both to watch her closely and don't let her do anything stupid or crazy" she said, knowing exactly how her subordinate always thought.

Sai and Lee nodded, "Yes, Tsunade-sama" they said, before walking out the door.

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened, he felt that Chakura before. _'Sasuke!'_ he thought. He knew his thoughts couldn't be converted into words then, but he wanted to talk to him.

"S-Sasu―" he managed to get out, but choked. Sasuke chuckled, resting his right hand on his hip.

"Talk more and you'll die. That thing will turn your lungs into liquid" he said, smirking. "So, you'd better shut up because I won't let you die" he said, smiling. Naruto was able to make out more of the scene, that smile on Sasuke's face wasn't a happy one or a sympathy one; it was more of a smirk, his usual one.

"I need you for my new _project_" he said, stressing on that word. Naruto narrowed his eyes and knotted his eyebrows. _'Project?'_ he thought, causing Sasuke to laugh.

"God, Naruto, you should see the look on your face right now" he said, turning around and walking off.

"I'll ask them to get you out of there, in the meantime," he said, stopping in his tracks and turning around, "get some rest. You'll definitely need it" he said, chuckling evilly on his way out. Naruto blinked a couple of times before he felt something being injected in his body that made his eyelids feel heavy.

_'Project, Sasuke?'_ he thought as he closed his eyes, _'Sakura-chan, help me' _

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" Sai asked, eating his bowl of rice with the chopsticks. Sakura, who was poking her rice bowl, sighed and rested her chin on her hand as she leaned her elbow on the table.

"I have no clue" Lee replied and took a sip of juice out of his cup. Sai nodded and sat silently before moving his vision towards Sakura who was obviously spacing out.

"Sakura" he mumbled, causing her to look up at him, blinking a couple of times. She noticed the look on his face so she cleared her throat and sat straight.

"I'm fine"

"You're not"

He replied, causing her to close her eyes and sigh heavily, putting the chopsticks on the table and getting up.

"I'm going home." she said, walking away. Lee looked between the two before he decided to speak out.

"But, Sakura-san"

"Leave her be, She probably needs some time alone." Sai interrupted, continuing his meal. Lee nodded and kept his eyes at Sakura who walked away into the distance until she was lost between the crowds.

* * *

A couple of days have passed; Sakura, Sai and Lee have not yet to find a clue about Naruto's whereabouts, thus making their mission impossible to even start. Sakura decided to take a walk, away from everyone else. As she passed the shops, restaurants and houses, Sakura kept her mind only on one thing.

"Naruto" she mumbled, hugging her arms and rubbed the cold away. She's been thinking about the possibilities.

_'Why would anyone take Naruto's body?'_ she thought, looking at her feet. _'What's in it for them? What does Naruto's body, out of all the Hokages' and superior Ninjas' in that same cemetery, have that they don't?'_ she thought, sighing heavily.

She continued walking, looking around in Konoha. Until she realized she was walking towards the big entrance gate of Konohagakure. She narrowed her eyes to see someone standing there, near the gate, dressed in a blue winter coat and a short blue skirt with the fishnet knee-caps beneath.

_'Who dresses like that in this cold?'_ she thought, as only one person came on her mind.

"Ino?" she asked, walking towards her. The latter widened her eyes and tried to hide, but Sakura managed to catch her in time.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked, holding Ino by the arm. "Ouch! Ouch! Let go, it's going to turn red!" Ino said, pulling her arm away from Sakura's grip of hell.

The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Say, what are you doing here?" she asked, smirking. Ino blinked a couple of times and blushed.

"Nothing, just getting a report from them" she said, pointing at Kotetsu and Izumo, the guards watching the entrance behind their small cabinet counter. Sakura blinked a couple of times before looking at them.

"Nope, No reports for today" Izumo said, resting his hand on his chin and interestingly enjoying the conversation between the girls. They've been working nonstop for the past couple of years, but they enjoyed the situations happening at the gates. It was more like a live TV. Kotetsu looked at his friend and chuckled.

"My bet is that she's waiting for someone" he said, chuckling. Ino sharply turned her head at him, glaring. He gulped and pushed his seat backwards. Sakura turned her head slowly towards the gate before turning her head to Ino.

"Well?" she said, causing Ino to blush. "I, uh, well, you see―"

"What's going on here?" someone said, causing both girls to look at the person. Konoha's green vest, spiky tied up hair and bored expression were the traits of only one person in the village.

"Shikamaru, Hello" Sakura said, nodding. Shikamaru, sliding his hands in his pockets, nodded back. He stood there for a second before looking at the two.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked, causing Ino to stutter. "Uh, nothing!" she exclaimed, looking nervous. Sakura shook her head and looked at Shikamaru.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, tossing her hair to the side. Shikamaru sighed.

"It's troublesome, ever since I got promoted and Tsunade made me the Suna Ambassador's guide. Wait, I thought I told you that!" he said, narrowing his eyes. Sakura nodded, "Yes, You did. So, does that mean they're coming" she asked, receiving a nod from the Nara Chuunin. Both looked at each other for a while before looking at Ino. Shikamaru took a step closer to Sakura and whispered.

"I think she has a crush on one of the sand siblings" he said, chuckling. Sakura gaped, "No kidding!" she said, both of them laughing.

"I HEARD THAT!" Ino exclaimed, causing both of them to laugh even harder. They soon were joined by the laughter of Izumo and Kotetsu.

"It's reassuring to see that Konoha ninjas are in a good mood" a female voice said, causing all of them to turn to the gate. Ino gasped before getting her composure back. The Sand Shinobi have arrived and none of them have noticed. Temari crossed her arms and smiled.

"Hey guys. Hey, Shikamaru" she said, smiling. Shikamaru shook his head. "Hey…" he said, before turning his head to the side, "…troublesome woman" he mumbled, clearing his throat before turning his head back towards them with his usual smile on his face.

Sakura smiled and stood straight, welcoming them. "Temari-san, Kankurou-san, and Gaara-sama…welcome" she said, smiling. She got a nod and a smile form both Kankurou and Temari while got no response from the sand's ultimate weapon and Kazekage, Gaara.

"I had no idea I had fan girls waiting anxiously for me in here" Kankurou said, taking a couple of steps towards Ino before draping his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, babe" he said, winking. Ino rolled her eyes before pushing him away.

"Take one step closer and die" she threatened, narrowing her eyes. Kankurou gulped and took a step backwards.

"Well, it's good to know Konoha has its ultimate defense in here" he exclaimed, chuckling. "Just like we have Gaara" he sheepishly grinned, causing Ino to blush and Gaara to turn his head to the side, uninterested in his brother's statement.

Sakura chuckled at the scene, _'They would make a nice pair. Gaara would definitely need someone like Ino in his life'_

She took a deep breath and exhaled it, "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, causing all attention to be turned to her. "We were requested by Hokage. She said it might be an S-ranked situation" Gaara calmly explained, causing everyone to knot their eyebrows.

Kankurou turned to face his brother, "Why didn't you tell us? We could have showed up faster" He said, crossing his arms. Gaara shifted his vision from the Konoha shinobi to his brother, causing the latter to gulp. "I have no idea what the situation is as well. That's why I came here" he said, turning his head towards Shikamaru.

"If you may," he started, narrowing his eyes, "please, take us to Hokage"

* * *

"What?" Gaara exclaimed, widening his eyes and putting his hands on Tsunade's desk. "How in the world did that happen?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Tsunade was looking out the window of her office when she turned around to face him. "I have no idea. I never believed someone would go that low to take someone's dead body" Tsunade said, sitting down on her chair. Gaara, sitting on the chair opposed to her desk, leaned back in his chair.

"What are the known motives?" he asked, making Tsunade sigh. "We don't know yet. It's been only a couple of days since the incident" she said, resting her elbows on the table. Gaara looked at the ground, narrowing his eyes.

"Naruto didn't have any enemies, did he?" he said, leaning forward on her desk. Tsunade shook her head.

"No, I don't believe he had" Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair. "Whatever they're after, it's still in his body" she said. The room went quiet for a couple of minutes before both Tsunade and Gaara looked at each other, eye widened.

"That's it!" Gaara said, nodding. "Naruto's a Jinchuuriki. The Kyuubi is still inside of him"

"But I thought the Kyuubi dies once its host is dead" Tsunade said, leaning forward on her desk. Gaara shook his head.

"I don't believe that's true" he said, looking at the ground. "The Host dies once the sealed demon beast is extracted, and the host doesn't die..." he said, looking at Tsunade.

"because the beast protects it at all costs"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, listening to Gaara's every word.

"Whenever I was out of Chakura, Shukaku would take over" he said, narrowing his eyes, not wanting to remember the old days.

"Once it was extracted, they said that I would've died if it wasn't for Chiyo-baa-san" he said, smiling sadly. Tsunade chuckled, looked at her desk and nodded.

"Well, we've got us a lead now, haven't we?" she said, smiling. Gaara nodded, "Yes" he said, getting up. "Gaara, I hope you don't mind helping us in this, since your village is an ally to ours" she said, smiling and hoping for him to accept.

"Sure, your village helped ours once. Naruto helped me twice, no, many times…" he said, remembering how Naruto helped him change his life for the better, made him give his siblings a chance, made him give himself a chance to live and to prove his existence. Gaara narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"It's time for me to pay him back" he said, nodding respectfully before walking out. Tsunade smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"I know you'll bring him back, Gaara, and everyone will help you with that" she mumbled, sighing heavily. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body in the chair.

"Naruto, hang in there"

* * *

"So that's what happened, huh?" Kankurou said, taking a sip from his tea. It's been a couple of hours since Gaara's been negotiating with Tsunade, so the others decided to have a cup of tea while they're at it.

"Yeah" Sai said, explaining the whole situation for Kankurou and Temari. "So now, Gaara's here to come up with a plan with Tsunade-sama so we can find him?" Temari said, looking at Shikamaru.

"I believe the situation is pretty much as you explained" he said, taking a sip of his tea. He turned to look at Sakura who was spacing out. They all turned their attention to her for a couple of seconds, until she noticed their stares. Sakura looked up, narrowing her eyes.

"What?" she exclaimed, causing everyone to start conversations with the person next to them, in her case, it was Lee.

"Sakura," he started, causing her to look at him. "Don't worry about it too much, you'll exhaust―" he was stopped by Sakura, storming off. "―yourself" he mumbled, looking at her as she walked away. Everyone on the table went silent for a minute until Lee decided to follow her.

* * *

"Sakura!" he called, running after her. She turned around; a sad expression was over her face as it was pale. "What do you want, Lee?" she asked, turning back around and continued her pace.

"You can't do this to yourself" he said, following her. She didn't reply, which was something Lee hated about her.

"Sakura!" he yelled, holding her by the arm and turning her around to face him. "What?!" she yelled back, jerking her hand out of his grip.

"What is it, Lee? Is it wrong for me to mourn my best friend, the one that I loved with all my heart? Is it wrong for me to be sorry that I couldn't protect him after his death? Is it wrong for me to feel sorry for myself for being a burden on him and everyone else? TELL ME!" she yelled, her tears strolling down her cheeks quickly, her face turned red and she was practically shaking.

Lee looked at the ground as she continued, "He-he's been always there for me. He promised he'd be back, but he never swore he'd come back _alive_" she said, sobbing. She wiped her tears away as she continue.

"I've always wanted to be there for him when he was always, always there for me. I want to be there for him now yet I don't know where to start" she said, sobbing hard until she broke in tears. Lee kept his eyes glued to the ground as he walked closer and pulled her into his arms. Sakura cried her heart out, crying into his chest. Lee rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

"Sakura, I-I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have said anything. I know how hard this is on you now." He said as he continued to calm her down which was managed successfully as her cries died down.

"It's not too late" he said, pulling her out of his arms and holding her shoulders, looking right into her eyes. "We can still save him. You can still do what you always wanted to do; being there for him" he said, smiling reassuringly. Sakura sobbed and sniffled.

"Y-You might be right" she said, in-between her sobs. Lee chuckled and hugged her again, resting his chin on top of her head. "We'll find him, Sakura, we will" he said, reassuring her.

Sakura sobbed lightly as she buried her head in his chest. _'Naruto, wherever you are…'_ she thought, pulling away from Lee's embrace. "C'mon, let's go back to the guys, they might get worried about us" Lee said, smiling. Sakura looked at him, blinked a couple of times and nodded, smiling sadly while wiping her tears away.

"Yeah, let's go" she said, both walking towards their destination.

_'…I will find you' _

* * *

His eyes shot open. His surroundings were dark, not a hint of light was let in. he started panting, feeling the darkness choke down on him. He sat up from his cold stone bed, touching his surroundings.

"Wall" he mumbled as he touched the cold brick wall. Suddenly, he saw flashes of Sasuke, Kyuubi and his friends in his head which made him hold its sides. Scenes flashed in his head, scenes he didn't know he's been through. Remembering vague flashbacks from that day when he was attacked by the anonymous figures with the purple-halo surrounding them and when he was brought to whatever that place was.

"What's happening to me?" he mumbled, shaking his head. The migraine was giving him a hard time concentrating his thoughts, the darkness wasn't a great help either.

He went silent when he heard footsteps, coming closer towards where he was. He stopped breathing when he heard the rattling of keys, and the door being opened. Its creaking sound made goose bumps appear on his skin and shivers go down his spine. He used his right hand to block the bright light from the outside.

"Uzumaki Naruto" a deep voice said, causing Naruto to get up on his feet, but soon fell to the ground. His legs felt like jelly.

_'God knows how long haven't I stood up' _he thought, bracing himself with the bed, trying to get up. The strong-built person walked into the dark room and held Naruto by the shoulders, lifting him up to his eye level. Naruto gulped when he noticed he was a couple of inches above the ground.

The huge man said no words as Naruto was thrown on the his shoulder and was carried away. A couple of rooms and hallways have passed Naruto's vision until he reached a big door. When it was opened, they entered a dark, candle-lit room with Tatami floors and a big shrine. Naruto was thrown to the ground, falling on his bottom.

"Easy on him, Kitsuke, I don't want him to be hurt" Naruto raised his head and was met with Sasuke's glare.

"Bastard" Naruto mumbled, trying to get up on his two feet which was then handled in a couple of seconds. Sasuke, who was sitting on a small couch, lying on the side with his right leg bent, smirked and sat up straight.

"Hey, now, remember who brought you back to life..." he said, getting up and walking towards his ex-teammate. Naruto narrowed his eyes once Sasuke knelt in front of him and came eye to eye with him.

"I can take it back if you do anything wrong" Sasuke said, smirking. Naruto gritted his teeth and spat in Sasuke's face, causing the latter to turn his head to the side and wipe it away. "Is that so?" Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto with Sharingan-activated eyes. Naruto knew what he did was wrong, but he didn't give a damn. Sasuke snickered and stood up, walking towards his couch when he suddenly turned around and kicked Naruto in the face, causing him to fly a couple of feet away to the side.

"Never, _ever_, do that again" Sasuke threatened as he watched Naruto try to get up. He wiped the blood away from his lips, looking angrily at the Uchiha.

"I thought you didn't want me to be hurt" Naruto said, narrowing his eyes. Sasuke laughed, "I can do whatever I want to do with you" Sasuke said, walking towards the couch. Naruto gritted his teeth as his eyes turned red, the marks on his cheeks got thicker and wider. "Bastard Sasuke!" He growled, running towards Sasuke. As soon as Naruto lunged at him, the latter simply turned around and raised his palm in his face. The Jinchuuriki fell to the ground with a thump.

"I can control you, idiot" he said, smirking. The latter rested his fist on the ground, using it to get up and come face to face with Sasuke.

"What do you want, bastard?" Naruto said, glaring at Sasuke. The latter laughed, before looking at Naruto.

"I want you to do me a special favor―"

"―special favor my butt" Naruto interrupted, walking away from Sasuke. "You're not going far way, Naruto" he said, resting his hand on his hip. A couple of seconds later, Naruto screamed, feeling his body burning up.

"What did you do to me?!" Naruto asked, falling to his knees. Sasuke walked towards his friends and knelt in front of him, his hand moving towards Naruto's face, forcing him to look up. "Let's say that if you don't do that favor for me, you'll die" he whispered, causing Naruto to glare at him.

"I prefer to die!" he said, staring right into Sasuke's eyes. The latter laughed.

"You wish" Sasuke exclaimed, narrowing his eyes, "I need you, Naruto" he whispered, narrowing his eyes. "You're the most important element in my plot" Sasuke said, laughing out loud. He pushed Naruto away, causing him to fall backwards on his butt again, gaping at him.

"You're crazy. What are you going to do?!" Naruto said, clutching his side as he sat there, staring at his ex-teammate and friend.

"Sasuke," Naruto mumbled as Sasuke continued to laugh maniacally.

"You've gone insane"

* * *

**Dun Dun dunnnnnnnn!!! **

**Finally finished, sorry for the delay, folks! **

**What do you think!?!? **

**Please review XD**


	3. Ch:3

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**Reviews:**

kabata4life: He-he, I'm glad you think it's interesting. Hope to see your review on this chapter as well. Thanks for the review.

N/A: well, I'm glad your happiness is equal again. Thanks for the review. And don't worry; I won't make Sakura fall for Sasuke.

templar132: he-he. I figured Sasuke would do something like that. Thanks for your review XD. I'm glad you changed your mind.

Hymir: -crying- Aww, thank you. I won't let you down, I promise. I'll try to add more SakuNaru in this chapter, I'll try. Thank you for your review. God bless.

deidara7112: no problem. Thanks for your review XD

Shouri no Hana: well, yeah, he kinda did. The Kyuubi thingy, well, he was released. What more should I say? I guess there will be more clarification in later episodes. Thank you for your review. I'll make sure you wait this time.

RAMENRAMENRAMEN: thank you for your review. Glad you liked it XD

Independent.C.: I know, I know. Don't worry.

Everyone, please forgive me for the delay. I've been staying up late and spending time on different things and I stopped writing for a while. I've been also preparing for my travel because I'm going on a vacation. I hope you guys forgive me. I'm continuing with the story.

Enjoy!

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* * *

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**The truth behind the lies, Chapter 3**:

Gaara walked out of Tsunade's office, deciding to tell what he and Tsunade have concluded to his siblings and the others.

_'I can't they would do such a thing'_ he thought, looking at the ground. At that moment, he remembered when he got the news about Naruto's demise. He couldn't believe that the one that saved his life in every aspect multiple times, the one who understood exactly what he went through as a child, was killed. It took him quite a while to register that thought and accept it.

_'I have to go find them' _he thought, walking out of the building.

**

* * *

**

"I wonder what's taking him so long…" Kankurou said, putting an impatient expression on his face. "…I mean, what do they do in those meetings? Have a tea party?!" Kankurou exclaimed, sighing heavily.

"He's probably finished the meeting a long time ago…" Shikamaru said, "…but he's just slow, I'm starting to believe something's holding him― OUCH, damn it, woman!" he yelled once he was punched in the stomach by Temari. "Can't you be more feminine? Geez, you're the second most troublesome woman I've ever met" he said, rubbing his stomach. Kankurou narrowed his eyes, "Who's the first?" he asked, receiving a glare from Shikamaru.

"My mother" he said, sighing. Temari chuckled.

"I'm more feminine than you're more masculine" she said, sipping her tea. Shikamaru smirked, "You're still drinking that? Now I know where he got those slow genes―"

"―Oh, you're as good as dead, Nara!" She said, getting up, balling her hands into fists, but was held back by Kankurou. "Sit down, we don't need another fight" Kankurou said, sitting across of Tenten who was waiting to hear the news from Gaara as well. 

He smiled, "What do you do in this little group?" he said, winking at her. Tenten smirked, leaning closer on the table. "I'm the weapon specialist, they call me Konoha's weapon mistress" she said, smiling sarcastically "She never misses her target, _ever_" Neji continued, stressing on the word, smirking. Kankurou sweat dropped and backed off.

"Man, you girls are monsters…" he mumbled, looking across the table to the right at Hinata who was giggling at the whole situation.

"…what about you, lovely?" he said, smiling. At that point, Neji's look at Kankurou turned into an overprotective one.

"What about me?" she asked back, narrowing her eyes at him. He smiled, opening his mouth to speak up.

"She's my cousin…" Neji said, making Kankurou move his eyes towards him. He gulped once he noticed Neji's intense glare at him. "…so, don't even go there"

Kankurou chuckled nervously, "I see" he mumbled, still chuckling. _'Note to self: stay away from those people and avoiding pissing them off, especially the weird-eyes dude and the weapon mistress'_ he thought, trying to forget the glare Neji gave him and still giving him.

"Hey guys" they all turned to see Lee and Sakura walk into the restaurant. They all said their hellos and got back to whatever they were talking about. Sakura sat down and turned her head towards Lee who sat next to her, "have you seen Sai?" she asked, receiving a headshake from her friend.

"No, He's probably off doing some research about this situation" he replied, receiving a nod from Sakura. She knew that Sai had a dumb personality around them. But whenever there was a serious situation, he would be the first to step up.

"Any new news?" Sakura asked, looking at Kiba who sat across of her. "Nope, he's still hadn't shown up…" he replied, talking about Gaara. "Oh, there he is…" he said, nodding at the entrance of the restaurant.

"What took you so long, bro?" Kankurou started, making everyone turn their vision towards him. Gaara stood, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Tsunade and I managed to get a clue about Naruto's whereabouts…" he started, causing everyone, especially Sakura, to hold their breaths.

"…We believe that it's wherever Akatsuki is"

**

* * *

**

He was led into an underground dungeon where he was handcuffed and thrown. Naruto cursed, looking around him. It looked like sort of those 14th century dungeons you hear about in stories. Its brick walls were lit by torches on every corner in the room. The air was damp, he could almost hear water drops trickle down the walls, or simply drop from the ceiling. A draft of air was hitting him, coming from somewhere, passing through the small holes between each brick, giving out a whistle-like sound. Naruto shuddered.

"Where the hell am I now?" he asked himself, looking around him. The sound of radio static appeared out of nowhere, followed by the sound of a tap.

"Good evening, Naruto" Sasuke's voice ran through the speakers, echoing across the big room. Naruto managed to get up, looking around for the source of the sound.

"Sasuke!" he yelled, hearing the laughter of his friend. _'Correction, he's not a friend anymore'_

He continued to laugh, "Naruto, please don't be too loud. No one would hear you. It brings nothing that pain to my ears" he said, groaning. Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling the fire run through his veins.

"Why don't you show yourself?" Naruto said, his eyes shifting from corner to corner. "Nah, I have more important business to take care―"

"―More important than your _project_?" Naruto interrupted, mentally smirking. Sasuke chuckled, "Well, well, Naruto…" he said, chuckling. "…I see you're more anxious about that project than I am" he said, going quiet for a moment. Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked around for any sign of the Uchiha.

"What? You fell asleep? No wonder, this place is like a very bad drug"

"―and you know what a bad drug is, I presume?" Sasuke said; the sound of his breath was heard on the microphone, making Naruto twitch.

"How would I know if the expert is talking to me?" Naruto replied, sarcastically. Sasuke laughed, "Now that's a burn..." he said, chuckling. "...I've never laughed like this in a long time…" he said, trying to change the subject. "…Like I said earlier, I have more important things to do" he said, waiting for Naruto to reply.

"So, you bothered to come here so you can piss me off?" he asked, hearing a laugh from the Uchiha. "No, I was wondering if you had any questions you wanted to ask" he replied, almost innocently. Naruto narrowed his eyes and breathed heavily.

"Questions?!" Naruto repeated, hearing Sasuke's annoying laugh again. "Yeah, like, what happened to Kyuubi? Why isn't it out yet when you broke the seal?" Sasuke gave examples of the questions Naruto could ask, confusing him.

"Right" Naruto mumbled, remembering that he released Kyuubi's seal. "See? You need me there for ya, Naruto" Sasuke said, stressing on his name. "I managed to seal him back in. god, you're such a moron, letting a demon beast out like that. What's gotten into you?" Sasuke said, scolding him.

Naruto balled his hands into fists, tightening them. Sasuke sighed, "Naruto…" he started "…Kyuubi is needed in this project as well. Both of you are as important" Sasuke said, ending his sentence with his usual _'hn'_

"What's your damned plan, Sasuke?!" Naruto yelled, losing patience. Sasuke laughed, "Please, don't yell. You'll know about the plan soon enough and remember…" he said, "…I can control you, so don't you go do things that are unnecessary…" and with that, the transmission was over.

"Sasuke, You bastard…" he said, "Where did you go?!" Naruto yelled, hoping that he would reply to him. But the room was dead silent, only the sound of the wind was heard.

"Damn you" he mumbled, taking a couple of steps back until his back hit the wall, sliding down. He hugged his legs and sighed heavily. For some reason, he was glad that Sasuke's villainous voice disappeared. Naruto needed some time to think, to look back…

"Sakura…" he mumbled, somehow remembering her after all he's been through, remembering the times they've been together.

_Flashback:_

_Ring, ring. _

_He stirred in his bed, hearing the sound of his phone ringing. He looked at his nightstand to see that it was 7:45am. He groaned and forced himself out of bed, walking slowly out of the bedroom and down the stairs. _

_"Coming…" he mumbled, knowing that whoever on the phone would never hear him, though they were pretty persistent. _

_Naruto picked up the phone, taking a deep breath before releasing a breathy "Hello". His face lit up when he heard the voice on the other side. _

_"Naruto-kun, good morning…" it was her, the girl-friend he always had a crush on. Well, let's say that she's becoming even more than a friend after the kiss they shared a couple of days earlier during their hide-and-seek game. _

_"…I know you never wake up at a time like this but Sai's here and he insisted that― SAI, PUT THAT DOWN! MOM WILL KILL YOU IF SHE SAW YOU!" she yelled, using her strong inhuman tone. _

_ "―HOW MANY TIMES DID I TELL YOU NOT TO MESS AROUND MY HOUSE?! Naruto-kun, hold on a second…" she said. Naruto heard the sound of the phone being thrown on the couch before hearing the sound of things crashing and breaking and the pleadings of Sai before he suddenly went silent. Naruto gulped and sweat dropped before hearing the phone being picked up on the other side. _

_Sakura sighed, "Hey, I'm sorry, I had some things to take care of" she said, giggling innocently. Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, I heard that very clearly" he said, the hint of amusement was heard in his voice, causing Sakura to laugh. _

_"Well, as I was saying, Sai wants you to come over; we're going on a picnic…" She excitingly said, her voice hinted that she was jumping around, "…or so he says" she continued, stopping her cheerful act. Naruto chuckled. _

_"Yeah, Sure, I'll be there in a second." He said, smiling on the other side. Sakura giggled. "Good. And Naruto…" she said, catching his attention. _

_"Yeah?" he replied, quizzically. _

_She went silent for a minute, "I-I…um…" she stuttered, before taking a deep breath. "...I can't wait to see you" she said, chuckling. "See ya" she continued, hanging up. Naruto was left agape, holding the phone's receiver close to his ear before smiling. "I can't wait to see you too, Sakura-chan" he mumbled, laughing happily before running towards the bathroom to freshen up. _

_End flashback_

Naruto chuckled, remembering that day. _'Thinking about them could help me at the moment'_ he thought, closing his eyes and leaning them on his knees, remembering what happened next.

_Another flashback_

_He was a couple of feet away from her place. He could see the door suddenly open and Sai running out along with Sakura, "Naruto!" He could hear Sai scream, waving at him before falling face down to the ground. He chuckled when he saw Sakura, clinching her fists, mumble something to him, before he got up, rubbing the back of his head. _

_Naruto got closer and smiled, "Hey guys" he said, raising his hand. Sakura smiled and walked to him, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him passionately. Sai groaned, "Oh, please, get a room" he said, walking inside to get the picnic basket. _

_Sakura chuckled as she snaked her arms around his Neck. Naruto slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, thus, deepening the kiss before they broke it a couple of seconds later. _

_"Hey you" she mumbled, kissing him again before pulling away. He smiled, giving her a quick peck on her lips. "Right back at ya" he said, cheekily laughing. Sakura grinned and claimed his lips with hers again, this time more vigorously and passionately. Naruto moaned, licking her lips and asking for entrance, she broke the kiss, maintaining the same dangerous distance between their lips. She could shiver, feeling his hot breath hit her face. _

_"I'm glad you're here" she said, kissing him and allowing him the entrance when he did the same, causing him to kiss her roughly. Just when they got to the point where their minds weren't thinking rationally, Sai interrupted the mood. _

_"Yeah, yeah, we've got more important stuff to do. Pull your tongues out of each others' throats" he said, standing in between. He sweat dropped once he noticed they weren't listening but more importantly, continued on with their make-out session. _

_"I'm Outta here" he said, walking off with the items needed for the picnic. Sakura and Naruto finally broke the kiss for the need of oxygen. _

_"That was…Wow" he mumbled, gaping at her. Sakura beamed. "Well, I think we should get going" she said, pointing at Sai who was walking away; the blanket underneath his left arm and the basket in his right, on his head was a big green hat that had the writings 'I heart ROCK' on it. _

_Naruto laughed, "Yeah, Let's go" he said, holding her hand in his and running towards him. _

_"C'mon, man, it's the second time this week that you do this." Naruto groaned; looking at Sai who walked with his eyes closed. Sakura chuckled. _

_"I know you're ignoring us but you have to open your eyes incase something was ahead of you" She said, crossing her arms. She stopped in her tracks along with Naruto who stood by her side, hands in his pocket. They watched as Sai walked towards one of the poles near the building. _

_"It's not like I'm going to crash into something. I'm an ANBU member. I can figure where the enemy is easily. Because I―" his words were cut when he banged his head hard against the pole, falling backwards. _

_Sakura and Naruto winced at the scene before running towards their friend. "Hey, are you ok?" Sakura asked, helping him up along with Naruto. "It's already bruised, Sai" Naruto exclaimed, compressing his laughter. Sakura's glare made him think twice about laughing. _

_"Alright, Picnic's off!" Sakura exclaimed, causing both Sai and Naruto to whine. "B-B-But I wanted to go to the picnic" Sai exclaimed, sadly. "Besides, that's what forehead protectors do: Protects your forehead!" he explained, pointing on his forehead protector with his thumb, stressing on his words. Sakura chuckled. _

_"Alright, it's your head" Sakura said, walking ahead of them. "Just to let you two boys know…" she said, turning around to face them. "…the last to be at the park is a rotten egg" she said, running as fast as she could away from the two. Sai and Naruto looked at each other and smirked. _

_"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled, following his beloved. Sai followed suit, trying his best to run while carrying the items he had. _

_"Wait for me!" he yelled, running after those two towards the park to have the picnic he dreamed of... _

_End flashback_

The sound of the radio static was heard, causing Naruto to lift his head up. "You should get some sleep, Naruto-kun" he heard the voice say, it was a different voice, not Sasuke's villainous one.

"Who's this?!" Naruto asked, hoping to get a quick reply. The voice chuckled, "My chest still aches from the moment you hit me with that Rasengan almost two years ago, Naruto-kun…" the voice said, making Naruto narrow his eyes. "…I'm glad your left hand is healed from the Kunai I used" he continued, causing Naruto to widen his eyes and gape. "Didn't you recognize my voice just yet?" he went on, chuckling.

"…It's me, Yakushi Kabuto" he said, laughing. Naruto gritted his teeth, but before he knew it, something hit him in the neck, causing him to fall unconscious.

**

* * *

**

"Akatsuki ka?" Lee asked, waiting for Gaara to reply. They have all agreed on moving to a more secluded area than a public restaurant to talk about the situation, a small field in the forest was a good place.

"Ah, it appears that they were after Naruto's Kyuubi…" Gaara said, crossing his arms. "…that would be the only reason for them to steal his body" he continued, taking a deep breath. Shikamaru nodded, "so the plan to get him back would be―"

"―finding the location of Akatsuki's headquarters" Sakura continued, looking at the ground as she leaned on the tree trunk. Gaara, who was sitting on the ground, nodded, "We're still short on clues, that's why…" he said, getting up. "…we're going to look for them" he firmly said, putting his emotionless expression on his face. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Where should we start?" Kankurou asked, turning the attention towards him. "Dividing the group into search parties would be a good start" Neji answered, receiving a nod from the others.

"The usual teams are usually divided, but we're short on some members…" he said, mentioning that some of the members of each time are missing.

The rest were there: Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Sakura, Gaara, Kankurou and Temari. "We have to divide the teams according to their abilities…" Kankurou said, "…I'll go with blondie" he pointed at Ino who glared at him, mumbling something.

"But we're eleven…" Sakura said, looking at each and every one of them. "…I'm gonna go find Sai. He could be a great help!" she exclaimed, disappearing into thin air. Shikamaru turned his attention to everyone.

After a couple of minutes of arguments, the teams were divided into twos: Tenten decided to stick with Neji, since they both know each other better than the others. It was Neji's idea to keep Hinata away from Kankurou so he decided she should be paired with Kiba, her actual teammate.

Tenten thought it would be good to pair Shikamaru with Temari in thoughts that they might straighten things up between them instead of fighting all the time.

"That leaves us with me, Kankurou, Lee and Ino…" Gaara said, looking at each and every one of them. Shikamaru groaned.

"Ino's going with you" he said, causing Kankurou to shriek and Ino to heave a sigh. "I'm good with that" she said, grinning. Gaara remained his silence, waiting for Shikamaru to explain.

"Why do you think that?" Kankurou replied, narrowing his eyes at him.

Shikamaru smirked before sighing, "Just a thought" he said, chuckling. Temari smirked, "It's better to keep you away from chicks in this mission, so you're paired with Lee" She said, pointing at Lee. Kankurou glanced at Lee who was giving himself a pep talk, something about _'youth'_ and _'being able to do it'_ before he looked up at Kankurou and gave him the usual _cool guy_ pose. Kankurou gulped, "uh, sure" he said, lowering his head in defeat.

"So, what's the plan again?" Kiba asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Tenten sighed, "Look around to see if we can find any clues that could lead to Naruto" she said, crossing her arms.

"The areas…?" Kiba asked, causing everyone to look at him. Gaara nodded, "Ino and I will go to the cemetery. Something tells me there's going to be a clue―"

"―Hell no! I'm not going there! There might be ghosts and stuff" Ino whined, crossing her arms. Gaara glared at her, "fine, then I'll pair you with Kank―"

"―The cemetery seems fine" she said, nodding. Everyone sweat dropped. Gaara sighed, "As I was saying, we're going to the cemetery. Neji, you're covering the north and west area of the forest; your capability to see for distance would help us a lot. Tenten, you'll be helping him out"

Both Tenten and Neji nodded in agreement. Gaara turned to face Kiba and Hinata "Since we have you with the Byakugan as well, you'll be checking the underground area along with Kiba who has his sense of smell" Gaara explained, receiving a thumb-up from Kiba. "Count on me".

"Kankurou, Lee―"

"―Ossu…" Lee excitingly exclaimed, saluting. "…we'll be checking the higher grounds in Konohagakure, boss!" he continued, standing firmly. Gaara's eye twitched before he cleared his throat. "We're done with this, I guess" he said, looking at his sister.

"We're going to cover the south and east side of the forest" she said, nodding. Shikamaru didn't have to say a thing, knowing that no matter what he'd say, the troublesome woman is going to force him to do what she wanted.

"Alright, we'll meet in five hours right at this spot" Gaara said, crossing his arms. Kiba coughed, "Um, how do we know this spot is the right spot?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassingly.

"We'll leave this mark here." Tenten said, throwing five fuchsia-flagged Kunai knives right above Kankurou's head.

Neji smirked, "Sounds good to me" he said, looking at Kankurou who was glaring at Tenten.

"But, why fuchsia?! Why not green or brown?" Kankurou asked, receiving a glare from everyone. "Because it doesn't mix with the color of the trees" Temari explained, holding herself back from beating her brother up senselessly.

"Alright…" Gaara said, "…Let's go!" he ordered. Everyone disappeared into their specific locations, leaving Shikamaru alone. Temari glared at him. "What's up your butt?" she asked, crossing her arms. Shikamaru lazily looked at her.

"Who made him our leader?" he asked, looking at where Gaara stood. Temari shook her head. "No one, let's go" she said, walking ahead of him. Shikamaru sighed, "Mendokuse na" he mumbled his usual _too troublesome_, following her.

**

* * *

**

**-Sigh- Yeah, yeah. I paired them the way I like it XD **

**Please tell me what you think. I kinda made Kankurou with a dumb personality. I love this guy! **

**If you have any questions, suggestions or complaints, feel free to PM me xD**


	4. Ch:4

* * *

**Reviews: **

kabata4life: thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Hope to see your review in this chapter as well.

Templar132: ha-ha, I guess I want him to lack a little common sense, Maybe because that's the impression I get from him, don't know why. Thx for your review.

Krymsom: Although I don't know him, I read that he later joins the team and has this dark personality before he tries to open up to his friends, giving those nicknames to them and such. But I'll try my best to keep him _on character_. Thanks for your review.

Oh, and No offense to blondes!!! Cuz Ino's acting a bit like one in here.

**Announcement:** On Monday, July 2nd, I'll go on a summer vacation with my family to Egypt. I might not be able to update ANY of my stories, but I'll try my best.

Love Y'all! Enjoy this chapter XD

* * *

**The truth behind the lies, Chapter 4:**

"OK!" Lee exclaimed, standing dramatically on a cliff, looking far, far away. Kankurou narrowed his eyes at him. "…what do you see this time?" he said, crossing his arms and sighing heavily.

"I see…" he said, pausing for a minute before sighing, his head lowered in defeat. "…nothing"

"Just as I thought" Kankurou said, walking ahead of him. "We'll have to find a clue instead of doing your _'youthful'_ business" he said, making quotation marks with his hands. Lee gasped.

"But being youthful is nice! It's like running in a field of roses, knowing that you're still flourishing to become a raging spring of―"

"―fine, fine, I get your point. I'm proud of my youth!" Kankurou said, rolling his eyes. "…life isn't a walk full of roses, now let's get going" Kankurou said, slowly followed by a yet excited Lee.

A couple of minutes later, Kankurou stopped and turned around, "You go this way…" he said, pointing east before continuing "…while I take that way" pointing straight ahead.

"Why do you get to go there while I go that way?" Lee said, pointing where Kankurou did. The latter sighed, "Look, do you have a problem with that?" Kankurou scolded, causing Lee to wince a bit.

"N-No..." he stuttered, before standing proudly, "No, boss!!" Lee exclaimed, standing straight and saluting. Kankurou sighed "At ease, soldier" he jokingly said, causing Lee to laugh. "We'd better find anything otherwise they will kill us" he exclaimed, crossing his arms. Lee chuckled and took his road, in a matter of seconds.

"HOLD IT! DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!"

Lee, of course, stopped every single muscle from functioning. "What? What? What is it?!" he said, not daring to move his head. Kankurou walked towards him and looked. He was standing in a very awkward way. His right leg was on the ground while his left was forward.

"You…just...stepped...on...something!" Kankurou slowly said, kneeling next to Lee's foot. The latter gulped.

"Is it a trap? Is it going to take my foot off, or worse, my whole leg?!" Lee shrieked, causing Kankurou to sigh.

"I can always make you a brand new one!" he joked, causing Lee to sweat drop. "That's not funny!" Lee said, almost crying.

"Kankurou, I don't want to lose my life. My precious, beautiful, youthful body will be damaged for ever unless you save me!" he said, stressing on every word he said. Kankurou nodded and leaned his head on the ground, peeking underneath Lee's foot.

"What in the world are you doing?"

"I'm studying the structure of it" Kankurou exclaimed, closing one eye and opening the other. Lee rolled his eyes. "Just help me run away!" he said, trying his best to stay balanced on one foot. Kankurou carefully lifted his head and pressed his fingers on the sides of the thing Lee stepped on.

"Move on the count of three…" Kankurou said, receiving a nod from Lee, "…one, two, THREE!" he yelled, Lee jumped a good twenty feet backwards, leaving Kankurou stuck with the greenish-black object he had his fingers on.

"What is it?!" Lee yelled, causing Kankurou to glare at him. "Well, Why don't you come over here and know for yourself?" he yelled, receiving a huge sigh from Lee.

"Alright!" he started walking towards Kankurou who was studying the white writings on the object:

_"…Once you walk into the walkway of the shadow, face your fears and exploit them. The entrance of the gallows lies beneath the sea…"_

Kankurou read before putting on a stupid expression. "Uh…." He started, looking up at Lee who was concentrating on that paper. Lee looked down at him and shook his head. "I've got no idea, buddy!" he exclaimed, both sighing.

"Then let's go tell Gaara and the others about this" Kankurou said, getting up and walking head. Lee thrust his fist in the air. "YES! Our fiery determination has led us here. Long live youth!" he exclaimed, walking after Kankurou with a happy expression on his face. Kankurou didn't have to say a thing, knowing that Lee would go on and on about it.

* * *

Hinata and Kiba were looking around for any clues in an underground area. Kiba, with the help of Akamaru, were looking for any scent that smelled like Naruto, or something out of the place. 

"Did you find anything?" Kiba asked, looking at his teammate who was activating her Byakugan, looking across the tunnel they walked through.

"No" she mumbled, deactivating it. "This is going to be harder than we thought…" she said, walking towards her friend. "…we don't even know what were looking for" she said, sighing.

"We're looking for something out of the ordinary here. Akamaru…" he said, turning his head to the left where his huge friend was standing. "…Can you find us something?" he asked, receiving a small sound from his friend before he started sniffling.

Kiba took a glance at Hinata who was in some sort of a trance, "you ok?" he asked, looking worriedly at his friend. Her thought were cut and she turned her head towards him. "Y-Yeah, I'm ok" she said, walking behind Akamaru who was still searching around. Kiba sighed, _'I'm sure she's taking all of this pretty hard'_ he thought, following his friend and companion.

"Kiba, I think Akamaru found something" she said, forming a seal. "Byakugan" she said, activating her ability.

Kiba waited for her to check where Akamaru had led them. In a matter of seconds, "Something's down there…" she said, "…about seven meters below" she continued, looking at Kiba who nodded.

"Shikyaku no jutsu" he said, transforming into his animalistic form, causing Hinata to take a couple of steps backwards.

"Tsuga!" he yelled, spinning at an incredibly fast rate, digging through the ground. Hinata narrowed her eyes and lifted her hand in front of her face to protect it from the flying pieces of cement.

A couple of seconds, the spinning died down. "I found it!" he yelled from inside, his voice echoing. Hinata peeked at the hole he made. "C'mon up!" she said, taking a step backwards to let him jump up. Once he did, he took a couple of steps towards her with a small bag in his hand.

"Is this what you saw?" he asked, waving the bag in her face. Hinata nodded, taking the bag from him. She opened it to see a _fortune cookie_. Kiba raised an eyebrow and sniggered.

"We're searching for this?" he pointed, receiving a glare from Hinata. He shrugged, took the cookie from her and broke it in half. As usual, a piece of paper was inside:

_"Your skill will be tested, your fate shall be chosen, close your eyes and hear the words of the silent melody" _

Kiba recited, looking quizzically at Hinata. "Is this some kind of a riddle?" she asked, receiving a nod from him.

"I believe so…" he said, folded the paper and slid it in his pocket. "…Let's go, it's about time we meet with the others" he said, patting Akamaru on the head. "Good job, Akamaru" he said, receiving a small bark from him. Hinata narrowed her eyes, "Don't I get a _'good job'_ as well?" she said, jokingly. Kiba laughed and walked towards her, raising his hand to her head.

"Good job, Hinata-chan" he said, patting her on the head. She narrowed her eyes even more, walking off.

"Oh, C'mon Hinata, I was kidding!" he said, following her. Akamaru had this happy expression on his face, following the two as they made their way back.

* * *

He stood near the tree, looking around for any sign of her. "Where's she?" he said, crossing his arms. He didn't like it when someone's late. He was never late and he had a lot of things to do. 

"Girls" he mumbled, sighing. "What's wrong with girls?" he turned around, seeing that her head was peeping from behind the tree.

"Tenten…" he said, shaking his head. "…did you find anything?" Neji asked, taking a couple of steps towards her. She shook her head.

"Nothing on the west side, what about you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. He sighed and looked at the ground, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Nothing on the north side either. There has to be something. Whoever took Naruto's body must have slipped something" he said, looking around before moving his hands in front of him, forming his famous seal.

"Byakugan!" he exclaimed, activating his _kekkei genkai_. Tenten crossed her arms and waited for her friend to get her some news.

"What do you see?" she asked, walking to his side. She saw his eyes move right and left, looking in different directions. Tenten knew that it might look that he's just looking around their location, but only he knows where he's gone to with his eyes now.

Five minutes have passed and Tenten started tapping her foot. She sighed heavily, still waiting for the Hyuuga to finish off his search.

"I'm going to do some searching on my own again…" she said, realizing that he was probably too busy to hear her. "…whatever" she said, jumping up to one of the trees before jumping across the others, disappearing into the distance.

Neji was studying the area, covering a 500 meters radius. He could see her as well, jumping from tree to tree, looking for anything that could lead to Naruto.

He also noticed that she was heading towards something that caught his attention. "Explosive tag!" he said, running towards her direction, increasing his pace with every step.

Tenten stopped at a tree that had a piece of paper hung on its trunk. She stood on the branch and leaned closer, reading what was written:

_"The rainbow of the darkness, two orbs shine in the light. Take a left or take a right, one path leads to the ultimate…" _

She read, continuing to the second line.

_"It's feared by all, tears the shrine apart. Eyes can deceive, the true path lies within"_

She studied it harder. "This could be useful, but who would leave such a thing here?" she said, reaching for the paper. Once her fingertips reached the edge of the paper…

"TENTEN, DON'T!"

She heard his voice, "Neji?" she said, turning around and accidentally pulling the paper along. The explosive tag went off, sending her a couple of feet backwards. Neji ran as quickly as possible and slid on the ground, breaking her fall.

"Tenten, are you ok?" he asked, looking worriedly at he as she coughed. "Y-yeah, I'm ok" she said, looking up at him and smiling; her face was covered with black leftovers from the explosion, but he made sure she wasn't injured.

"Thanks…" she said, getting up with his help. "…I should've been more careful" she said, took a deep breath then coughed. Neji lightly patted her on the back.

"I found this…" she said, handing the paper over to Neji. The edges were half burned but the words weren't affected. "…I figured it might be a clue"

Neji narrowed his eyes, reading its content, "It's definitely a clue― you ok?" he asked, looking at Tenten who sat on a lying tree trunk. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…need a couple of seconds here" she said, taking deep breaths.

Neji nodded and moved to sit by her side, still holding the paper in his hand. "The words, they… they seem like some sort of directions…" he said, reading the words again. "…take a right or left…true path and―"

Neji felt something heavy on his right shoulder. He glanced to see that Tenten leaned her head on.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked, receiving a small nod from her. He nodded, "We have to go. We can't be late for the others" he said, moving her arms so they rested around his neck. He got up, carrying her in a piggyback-ride style.

"Hold on tight" he said, running towards their estimated meeting place.

* * *

"…before Naruto died, which was a very hard thing on all of us since he's our friend and all, I was a cold, selfish, good for nothing person. His death changed me somehow; I now care for my friends and do whatever I can to help them…" Ino babbled on and on about herself while Gaara wasn't even listening to her. The cemetery was too quiet; her annoying, high pitched, whiny voice was the only thing ruining the silence. 

"…everyone thinks that I'm this brainless blonde or something" she said, chuckling. Gaara rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Could you shut up for a second?" he calmly said, turning around to face her. She gasped,

"Excuse me?!"

_'Here goes the blonde fit'_ he thought. That's what he called it. Whenever his siblings argued, Temari threw this fit whenever Kankurou insulted her in anyway.

"Here I am, trying to make a decent conversation with you who's obviously in a bad mood. But NO, Kazekage-sama thinks too high of himself to listen to others who are not really below him. You don't have the right to treat others like this, even if you're the leader of Sunagakure…"

Gaara crossed his arms and closed his eyes, shaking his head as she went on and on about the reasons why he wasn't listening to her and why he HAD to. A good three minutes later, she stopped. Gaara opened his eyes and glared at her.

"What is it?" she said, wondering why he was giving her that look

"I've listened to everything you said, happy?" he sarcastically said, turning around and continued his search. Ino repined and walked behind him, looking around. He suddenly stopped, causing her to hit his back hard and fall backwards on her butt.

"Could you stop following me and go look around?" he calmly said, looking at her. She narrowed her eyes and got up, dusting off her clothes.

"I'm fine, thank you very much" she sarcastically said. Gaara sighed, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"You don't have respect for people, do you?" Ino asked, crossing her arms.

"You don't have respect for dead ones, Ino" he said, glancing at the graves before turning around and walking off. Ino sighed and looked at the ground, before looking at a grave next to her.

"He's right…" she mumbled, taking a deep breath and turning around, walking in the other direction. "…I should probably look in Naruto's grave…" she shuddered, "…creepy" she said, walking towards the Konoha's ninja's part of the graveyard which was, as Ino noticed, no different from the main cemetery. She always wondered why they called it that.

She passed the graves of first, second, third and forth Hokage's graves, lowering her head respectfully. She reached Naruto's open grave. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled it.

Ino opened her eyes and looked inside the grave.

"Gaara!" she yelled, looking at his direction. She could see him turn around and give her a quizzical look. She motioned her hand for him to come. He disappeared before showing up dramatically in a puff of Sand next to her.

"What is it?" he said, looking at her. She moved her vision from him to the grave, making him look at she was looking at.

"Do you think that's could be a clue?" Ino said, pointing at the piece of paper sticking on the inner side of the grave. Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw a line of sand crawling towards that paper, peeling it off and bringing it in front of its owner. Gaara narrowed his eyes, grabbing that paper from his sand:

_"Where the sun doesn't set, where the stars shine bright, nine flames of fire burn through your sight…" _

Gaara read the paper, studying its content. "…what is that?" he mumbled, reading what's written in the bottom.

_"…face the demon of the night, bow down in shame, take a closer look, you'll find the end of your game" _

"Um…" Ino mumbled, pointing at the paper. "…I'm not trying to sound a bit, um, stupid but I didn't really understand this" she said, shaking her head. Gaara glanced at her before moving his eyes to the paper.

"You're not, I didn't get it either..." he said, "…but it must be some sort of a riddle"

"Do you think it could lead us to Naruto?" she asked, blinking. Gaara nodded, "Perhaps, if we managed to solve it, that is" he said, looking at her. She nodded, looking at the ground. She sighed and looked up again, narrowing her eyes.

Gaara was staring at her with a smirk on his face, "What? Is there something on my face?" she asked, reaching for her cheek to wipe what wasn't there. Gaara shook his head.

"No, but you found this…" he said, waving the note with a small smile on his face, "…you're not as useless as I thought, Ino" he said, walking off. Ino blinked, staring at where he stood.

_'You did a GREAT job, INO. He's going to like you back. You know he―'_ her thoughts paused before realizing what he said.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" she said, making him turn around. "You thought I was useless?!" She yelled, stomping her foot to the ground. Gaara nodded, "I actually did" he said, continuing on his way.

She sighed, "We need to talk later on" she said, running to his side before the two set their destination to where they were supposed to meet the others.

* * *

"What a drag!" 

Temari rolled her eyes, for it was the sixtieth time he said that sentence. "Would you be a little bit more, I don't know, helpful? I'm not getting any benefit from your whining like a girl"

"Hey, That's the second time today you call me a girl…" he said, raising his index finger in her face, "…and I don't like it" he said, looking around. Temari sighed, "At least have a little respect for your friend and look around for anything that could bring him back" she said, speeding up her pace. Shikamaru looked at the ground and nodded,

"Alright" he mumbled, deciding to get serious. Temari stopped walking once he passed by her, looking around him for anything. She smiled, _'He could get things done if he got rid of that stupid attitude of his. Though I think that makes him really cu __―Wait, don't even THINK about that'_

"Temari!" She heard his voice calling her, "First you tell me to get going and now you can't get your lazy butt in action?" He scolded, receiving a death glare from her. "Get moving, shrimp" she said, stomping her feet as she walked past him. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Women; No matter how you treat them, you'll never get it righ―"

"―Shikamaru, get over here, NOW!" She called, her voice sounding a bit less scolding and a bit more serious. He ran to her side, looking where she was looking. "What's this?" he asked, looking at what looked like an explosive tag, but with different writings on them.

"Numbers…" he mumbled, looking at the paper at the numbers. Suddenly, it caught fire. "…Shit!" he said, memorizing the numbers as they started burning along with the tag. "Shikamaru, c'mon, it's going to explo―"

"―just a second!" he yelled, taking one last look at the numbers before holding Temari's hand and running away as fast as they could. In a second, the tag exploded, sending them a couple of feet away.

Shikamaru turned over, looking at the burning flames. "Temari, are you ok?" he said, looking over at her. She covered her head with her arms before looking up at him and nodded, insuring him that she's ok.

She turned over to sit up straight, looking at the flames, dying down. "What was that?" she mumbled, glancing at her partner. Temari narrowed her eyes once she noticed that he was spacing out, mouthing something.

"Shika―" her voice was silenced when he raised his index finger, shushing her. He closed his eyes, kept on mumbling something.

"21, 26, 21, 13, 1, 11, 9, 14, 1, 18, 21, 20, 15" he mumbled, closing his eyes, "Damn it!" he cursed, got up and repeated the numbers, trying to memorize them.

Temari blinked a couple of times before getting up. She stared at Shikamaru, trying to follow what he's talking about.

A couple of seconds later, he looked at her. "We have to tell the others, C'mon!" he yelled, jumping across the trees. Temari followed him, hearing him mumble the numbers over and over again.

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**Are you lost? Don't worry. It'll clear up soon enough. As usual, any questions, suggestions or idea can be PM to me **

**Oh, one more thing… **

**Please review XD**


	5. Ch:5

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**Reviews: **

Friesenator: thanks for the great review. I'm glad that you think this story sounds a bit like the real deal. Thanks

WolfChibi-fan: Yes, the riddles are pre-done, well, err, not totally pre-done because I thought about them WHILE writing the chapter, I wasn't planning on having the riddles but I though it'll make it more _interesting_. They are supposed to make no sense because everyone will try to solve them. Stay tuned and you'll figure out everything, including the numbers. _–Evil laugh-_

Charli: Thank you so much. I'm very, very glad you liked it.

Ratchet McCloud: Actually, it'll be all revealed in the next couple of chapters. The numbers thingy is a bit cliché but I had to add that. _–Glares-_ don't you TELL if you knew what those numbers mean!

Kabata4life: Yeah, InoGaara is my specialty _–dreamy sigh-_, though no one knows why. LeeKank, I'm not SURE that I want those together as in _'together'_ but I thought putting them together in a similar situation would make a one hell of a scene, since that would be out of the question in the series.

Templar132: Well, you said it, it's obviously someone who's _'crazy enough to do something as troublesome as that'_. Thanks for the review.

Narutomaster: Thank you. Glad you liked it. Wait and see for yourself! Thanks for your review.

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**Thank you guys for ALL of your reviews and thanks for the support, it really keeps me going! If you're still lost, I hope the following chapters clear things up. Thank you for your patience and for waiting till I got back! **

**Enjoy! **

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**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 5**

Hinata and Kiba were the first to arrive to the estimated meeting place. They looked around for the others, but no one was there.

"Heh…" Kiba started, "…I guess we're the first to arrive here" he said, leaning on Akamaru. Hinata nodded and walked towards the two.

"Do you think we can save Naruto with this?" she said, holding the piece of paper in her hand. Kiba shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm positive we'll figure something out of it" he said, reassuringly. Hinata smiled and nodded.

"Would you be quiet for just a second? God, you're so annoying!!"

The pair heard what sounded like Kankurou's voice, complaining about someone following him. Both of them knew it was Lee.

"If something happened to me, you're paying. I can't let my life go to waste!" Lee exclaimed as he was poking Kankurou's back while following him. Kankurou stops dead in his tracks and turns around.

"For the last time…" Kankurou started, causing Lee to open his mouth.

"…Stop poking my back, you youth-freak!" both Kankurou and Lee said in the same tone. Kankurou glared at Lee who was hiding his laughter. He groaned and turned around, walking towards Kiba and Hinata.

"Any clues found?" Kankurou asked, crossing his arms. Hinata nodded and handed the paper to Kankurou. The latter read it and was puzzled.

"Another riddle?" he said, narrowing his eyes. Kiba and Hinata looked at each other before looking at Lee and Kankurou. "_Another?_" they both stressed on the word, causing Kankurou to look up at them.

"We found a riddle of our own as well" Lee entered the conversation, sliding his hand in his patch pocket and getting the paper out before handing it to Kiba.

"I see…" Kiba exclaimed after reading Lee and Kankurou's riddle, "…Do you think the others found something like that as well?" he asked again, looking at the faces of his friends.

"We found something, if you're wondering about it"

All four turned around to see Neji, carrying Tenten on his back. Hinata gasped and ran towards her cousin, helping him with the weapon mistress.

"Geez, What happened?!" Kiba asked as they all started walking towards the two. Hinata helped Tenten as she stood, looking at the others.

"She's fine. We ran into some sort of a trap" Neji said, looking at Tenten who managed to stand on her own.

"Let me guess, you found something too?" Kankurou asked, crossing his arms. Neji narrowed his eyes and nodded, "Some sort of a riddle, yes" he replied, looking at both Lee and Kankurou as they exchanged looks.

"I guess we're not the only ones after all" Kiba exclaimed, waving the paper in the air. Hinata helped Tenten to sit down before looking up at them.

"I think it's best for us to wait for the others and see if they found similar clues" She exclaimed, causing everyone to look at her. "She's right…" Neji started, looking at the others. "…Let's rest until we find the others" he said, walking towards Tenten and sitting next to her. Lee sat in his place, Indian style.

"Yes, we should save our _yout_―"

"―Say that word one more time and you're dead meat" Kankurou cut off his _youthful_ speech. Lee looked innocently at Kankurou. "You hate that word because you're not a youth" he said, causing Kankurou to ball his hands into fists.

"Why you little―"

"―Kankurou, Lee, shut it!" Tenten said, causing all eyes to shift at them. "You guys are more annoying together than when you were separately!" She said, leaning backwards on the tree. Neji looked at her and smirked.

"Finally, someone to shut those two up" he said, looking away. Tenten looked at the ground and smiled. Both looked at Kankurou and Lee who stood agape, looking at Tenten who actually managed to stop them from talking…

…for only a couple of seconds…

Lee chuckled, "She told you to shut it" he whispered, chuckling cheekily. Kankurou glared at him, "You were told to do so as well" he exclaimed, crossing his arms.

"Well, she said your name first ―HOLY YOUTH!" Lee yelled when he saw a couple of Kunai knives flying in his direction.

"Tenten!" he said, putting a sad expression on his face. Tenten, who was holding a small open scroll in her hands, smirked.

"You deserve it!" she said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Finally, the two managed to be quiet and sat down on the ground, waiting for the others.

Five minutes later…

"I'm bored!"

"Shut it, Youth freak!"

Another five minutes later…

"Where are they?" Lee asked, sighing heavily before getting up. Neji got up as well and stretched. "They should've been here five minutes ago!" he exclaimed. That entire group went silent as the heard some voices behind them.

"It's entirely your fault!"

"Yeah?" a female voice said, "I wasn't talking to myself like a lunatic!"

"Well, I was doing something useful instead of whining about the weather…" a male voice said, "…Troublesome woman!"

Shikamaru and Temari reached the meeting place, nagging on each other. The group stood silent as the two noticed that they were finally there.

"Hey guys!" Lee called out, waving his hand in the air. Once the two glared at him, he lowered his hand and head in defeat, sighing.

"What took you so long, Temari?" Kankurou asked, getting up. Temari sighed and rested her hands on her hips. "He got us lost" she said, pointing her thumb in Shikamaru's direction.

Kankurou looked at Shikamaru who was counting something, "What's up with him?" he asked his sister while Shikamaru looked up from the ground.

"We found a riddle and I'm trying to memorize it, mind you. Anyone's got a pencil and a paper?" Shikamaru said, looking at the group.

Hinata reached for her patch pocket, "I've got ones right here" she said, got them out and handed them to Shikamaru.

"Thanks" he said, writing down what was in his head. Kankurou walked behind him and narrowed his eyes.

"Is that your riddle?" Kankurou sarcastically asked. "If you're trying to give my sister your number, you're dead, Nara" he said, glaring at Shikamaru who rolled his eyes.

Temari smirked, "There's a huge gap between your IQs" she said, referring to Shikamaru's genius-high IQ and Kankurou's normal one.

Kankurou faked a smiled, "I appreciate good Sarcasm, Temari, but yours isn't" He said, looking at the numbers Shikamaru was writing before taking a couple of steps away from them.

"Who's missing here?" Temari asked, looking around. Kankurou smirked, "Our little brother and his blonde girlfriend. They're probably smooching in the wilderness" he said, wiggling his fingers and laughing in the process.

"Probably WHAT?!"

_PUNCH! _

In a second, Kankurou was face first on the ground, behind him stood a very angry Ino

"Who uses the term _smooching_ anyway?" Temari said, crossing her arms. Kankurou rubbed the back of his head and got up. "I do!" he exclaimed, turning around to face Ino.

"…and you…" he said, stressing on the word, "…your punch is inhuman. You could've given me a concussion" he said, still rubbing the back of his neck.

Ino smirked and rested her hand on her hip, "If that's what'll get you to shut up" she said, smirking and tossing her head to the side. Kankurou smirked and narrowed his eyes.

"What took you guys so long, anyway?" he asked before receiving a glare from his brother, making him nervously chuckle.

"I'll take that back"

Everyone ignored Kankurou's statement and had their eyes turned to Gaara who was holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Another riddle?" Temari said, narrowing her eyes at the paper. Gaara looked at it and nodded.

"I assumed there would be others…" he said, walking towards the group. "...the question is: will solving them help us find Naruto?" Gaara asked, crossing his arms. Neji looked at the ground before looking up at the group.

"There's no harm in trying" he said, sighing. Everyone went silent, probably thinking when the voice of wincing Tenten made everyone turn to her.

"Tenten…" Neji said, kneeling next to her before looking up at the others. "…I think we'll call it a day" he said, receiving a nod from everyone.

"Yeah, we're tired alright…" Kiba said, stretching. "…so, are we all agreed to take a rest off of this?" he continued, resting his hands behind his neck.

"Yes…" Kankurou said, "…traveling all the way from Suna to Konoha isn't that easy!" He said, stretching. "I need to rest" he continued, looking at his sister who nodded in agreement.

"Yup. I need my beauty sleep" she said, yawning. Shikamaru sniggered, mumbling "…beauty sleep, yeah right" 

"Do you have something to say?"

"Not at all!"

Gaara looked at each and everyone one in the group, "I think we should tell Tsunade about these riddles"

"I think we should keep them to ourselves" Kankurou said, "If she took them, we'll never be able to solve them"

Hinata was confused, "Are you telling us to lie to Hokage-sama?" She asked, looking at the others. Kiba grinned, "We could use some action!" he exclaimed, rubbing his palms together in excitement.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground, "That's not totally lying. We'll just report that we didn't find anything of any meaning, which is true because we didn't get a thing from those riddles" he said, looking at the others who agreed.

"I'll report to Hokage-sama, you guys get back to your places" he said, showing his leadership traits.

Gaara sighed, looking around at everyone. "Alright, let's meet tomorrow morning, same place and time." he said, receiving a nod from the others.

"Kiba, please make sure Hinata gets home safely" Neji said, helping Tenten up. Kiba nodded, "Count on me" he said, before he set of to his destination with Hinata. In a matter of seconds, everyone separated and went to their homes. Temari, Gaara and Kankurou all started walking to their destination

"Hey…" Shikamaru called, causing Temari to turn around. "…Do you guys have a place to stay?" he asked, a hint of tenderness in his voice.

Temari smirked, "Yeah, Hokage gave us a place to stay in for a couple of days" she said, walking off with her siblings, not showing that there was a smile on her face.

Shikamaru sighed before looking up at the sky, "Kami-sama…" he mumbled, "…why am I stuck with troublesome women?" he said, sighing heavily before walking of to Hokage's building.

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_"It's me, Yakushi Kabuto" _

His eyes shot open as he sat up quickly, remembering that Kabuto spoke to him before he blacked out.

"YAKUSHI!" he unconsciously screamed his name. "Come out!" he said, before wincing at the pain shooting up and down his body.

"Now, now, Naruto, you're doing it again…"

Naruto's head shot to the right to see Sasuke, standing a couple of feet away from him, leaning against the wall.

"…you're giving me a headache. If you keep doing that, you'll hurt both of us" he said, touching the side of his head. Naruto wanted to lunge at him but he remembered the last time he did it:

_"Teme!" He growled, running towards Sasuke. As soon as Naruto lunged at him, the latter simply turned around and raised his palm in his face. The Jinchuuriki fell to the ground with a thump. _

_"I can control you, Usuratonkatchi"_

Naruto narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Why is Kabuto in this? Is Orochimaru in this plan as well?!" Naruto asked, his voice indicating the angry state he was in. Sasuke laughed.

"Orochimaru is history, Naruto…" he said, narrowing his eyes. "…you're here for a different reason" he said, chuckling.

Naruto gasped once he noticed that he left arm was moving on its own. He tried to fight it but no avail.

_'He's controlling me, damn it'_ he thought, noticing that his hand was reaching for something behind the stone bed he was on.

"What?!" Naruto said, realizing that his hand reached for a Kunai knife. In one swift move, his threw the Kunai at a piece of paper hanging on the wall a couple of feet to his left. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Sasuke reached for the paper and walked slowly towards Naruto.

"Your objective in this mission is…" he said, showing him the paper with a hole in the middle. The paper was a picture of none other than the person he admired and cared for his entire life.

"…eliminate Haruno Sakura…" he said, smirking, "…and her Scooby gang"

Naruto's eyes widened, "W-What?!" he asked, shocked. "You're asking for the impossible, Sasuke" Naruto spat, getting up, ignoring the pain in his body. Sasuke chuckled.

"I'm not asking that of you…" he said, "…I'm ordering you" he said, turning around and walking off.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, causing him to stop. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to do this to the people that cared for you?" Naruto asked; the tone of his voice was a bit softer. Sasuke turned around and looked at Naruto with narrowed and sorrowful eyes.

"Because…" he started, glaring at Naruto, "…you left me behind" he said, walking off without a word. Naruto blinked a couple of times as he stood agape, not completely comprehending Sasuke's words.

"We never left you behind, Sasuke…" he mumbled, before gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists. "WE NEVER LEFT YOU BEHIND, SASUKE!" he yelled it this time, making sure his friend heard him. As the metal door closed behind Sasuke, Naruto sat back down, touching the side of his neck.

_'What is he trying to make me do?'_ he thought, looking at his hands. "Is he going to make me do this?" he asked himself, burying his face in his hands, trying to figure out a way to warn his friends.

* * *

"Uchiha-sama"

Sasuke looked up from his desk and at one of Orochimaru's former subordinates who was kneeling respectfully in front of the desk.

"What is it, Keira?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at him. The follower looked up at his master.

"They're one step closer towards your goal" he said, lowering his head again. Sasuke smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Thank you, you're dismissed" Sasuke said, looking the other way. Keira nodded and left the room without a word.

He smirked, looking at the closed door. "One step closer…" he mumbled, laughing evilly as he realized his plan was going to be accomplished sooner than he thought.

* * *

"You think the others managed to find something?"

Sai asked Sakura as they both walked out of the Hokage building after a five hour search for something that could help them in finding their teammate.

"It's a great possibility…" she said, "…I'm sure they covered wide spaces. They must've found something…" she said, looking at the ground and pausing for a minute. Sai looked at her and titled his head as he walked next to her, knowing that she's still taking the whole Naruto's body being stolen thing a bit too hard. Sai moved his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"Hey…" he started as they both stopped walking, talking to her in a soft tone. "…everything will be alright. We'll find him" he said,

"More like find his dead body" she said, leaning on his chest. Sai looked at the ground, remembering that Naruto was actually dead. He pulled Sakura into a brotherly hug.

"We'll find him, Sakura-chan" he repeated, pulling her out of his embrace and looking right into her eyes. "Everyone is working hard enough to find him. Just have faith in them" he said, nodding reassuringly as tears started welling up her eyes. She smiled sadly and nodded.

"You're right. I should believe in them" she said, sighing heavily, looking at the ground. "Naruto never lost hope on someone, and I shouldn't either" she said, looking at Sai who had a smile on his face.

"C'mon, I'll take you to dinner, what do you think?" he asked, grinning. Sakura chuckled and nodded. "That would be good" she said, touching her stomach. "I'm a bit hungry"

"If you're hungry then I'm starving" he said, chuckling as well. They both chuckled and walked away towards one of the nearest restaurants.

Although Sai was trying to cheer her up, Sakura had her mind only on one thing: Finding Naruto. She looked up at the sky and smiled.

"I'm going to find you, Naruto-kun, just hang in there" she said, smiling sadly before returning her attention towards Sai.

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**FINISHED this chapter!! **

**Yeah, yeah, the plot is getting a bit more twisted, with Sasuke being a total bastard and all xP. Anyways, what do you think? I hope you guys liked it. **

**Please review XD**


	6. Ch:6

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**Reviews: **

Kabata4life: I'm very, VERY glad that you like this. I'm glad you liked _KankLee_ moments. Thank you for your review. I promise it'll get even twister xP

Uzukun7: AH, you blew off the surprise xP. Bad, bad Uzukun7!! Hehe, thank you for your review xD. It IS the easier to decipher. Hope to see your review in this one as well.

Maxslayer10: Thank you for the suggestion and the review xD

Hymir: Hey, it's been a while since I last saw your reviews. Thank you for the support and the encouraging review.

Rickp2006: Haha. It IS confusing. Everyone is saying that. Thank you for R&R

Konoha Lotus: Believe me, I'm trying. But I have so many stories that need to be updated, Thank you for your interest in this story and thank you for the review.

Moonwaterpetal: -gasp- is it just me or Sakura started acting in forest gump? XP. I'm really glad you like it, thank you for your review.

orrin glenn: Hey, it's great to see your review again. I'll be thinking about what you said. Thanks for the review x

Roland Desagare: Close, but not close enough. Nyahahahaha. Um, thank you for your very nice review.

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**Congratulation, peeps, Naruto's not dying in the movie. No sirry, I've got some spoilers from a reviewer, _–Evil Laugh-_ Yeah, well; you see…Naruto (the series) is mine in this story. Don't like it, don't read!**

Enjoy!!

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**The Truth behind the lies, chapter 6:**

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Sakura walked into her house and slammed the door behind her, sighing heavily. She had a terrible headache from reading all those books with Sai. Lee decided to join them at the dinner Sai promised Sakura to have. As the guys kept telling jokes to keep their mind off of the situation, Sakura kept poking on her food.

She threw herself on the couch, looking at the ceiling. She kept picturing him, remembering that dream she had when he called her for help. She was starting to wonder whether she had some sort of spiritual connection with him.

Sakura chuckled, shaking her head. _'Spiritual connection? C'mon!'_ she thought, breathing deeply. She closed her eyes, wanting to drift into sleep, hoping that Naruto would visit her and tell her his whereabouts.

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He slowly opened the door, making sure the girl in his arms didn't wake up. He slowly walked into the dark living room and activated his Byakugan to help him see his way through.

Neji slowly walked up the stairs, making sure Tenten's head didn't bang against the corner of the wall. After their investigation with the riddles, he took her to the hospital where she was treated for the minor injuries she received, of course, they had to explain it all to Tsunade-sama who almost considered it a danger alert.

Neji sighed as he walked towards the girl's bedroom, opening the door and getting her in. she mumbled something incoherent in her sleep. He chuckled and rested her limp body on her bed, pulling the covers over her.

Neji took one last look at her before walking out the door, closing it behind him.

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Gaara lied wide awake in his bed, hands behind his head as he thought of the riddles. He turned his head to the right and opened the drawer which had his and Ino's riddle in it. He reached for it and read it over and over again.

_'Where the sun doesn't set…'_ he thought, narrowing his eyes. "Where doesn't the sun set? And where in the world does the stars shine bright?" he mumbled, sighing heavily. Gaara put the paper on his stomach and rubbed his eyes in frustration, before it struck him.

"How couldn't I think about that?" he said, getting up quickly and jumping out of his bed, paper in hand.

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_RING, RING!_

She rolled to her side, mumbling something in her sleep, not aware of her private phone ringing off its hook.

_RING, RING!_

Sighing, she lazily lifted her head up, looking at the clock on the night stand.

_RING, RING! _

The clock was nearing 5am. She groaned as she picked up the phone. "This better be a good reason for waking me up…whoever you are"

"Ino, I almost figured it out!"

Ino blinked a couple of times, trying to register the voice of whoever was on the phone. "Uh, who figured out what?" she dumbly asked, waiting for a reply.

"This is Gaara" he bluntly said, knowing that she wasn't registering anything in that late hour. "I figured out the mystery behind our riddle" he continued, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Say what?" she asked, getting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Gaara rolled his eyes and shook his head in frustration.

"The riddle we found this morning at the graveya―"

"―Yeah, what about it?"

"I figured it out"

"Well, good for you." she sarcastically replied, "I know that. What did you figure out?" Ino said, yawning out loud.

"Do you remember the part which said: where the sun doesn't set?" Ino nodded, forgetting that she was on the phone. "Ino, are you there?"

"Yeah, Yeah, I remember that…" she said, gulping, "…what about it?" she asked, sighing.

"Where do you think the sun doesn't set?" he asked, waiting for a reply from the blonde. "Uh, Gaara, It's way past midnight. You're not expecting me to even THINK in this late hour" she said, looking out her window at the rising sun.

"C'mon, just think about it!" he said, also looking out the window as it was overlooking at the direction of the sun.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at the sun. "Where the sun doesn't set…" she mumbled, "…could it be the place where the sun rises?"

"Exactly!"

Ino smirked, shaking her head. "Could that be right? I mean, what if it's just a guess?"

"What if it's the right answer?" He replied, studying the paper in his hand. Ino played with her bed sheet, nodding slowly.

"Well, we'll just have to wait till…" she said, looking at the clock, "…eight o'clock to meet with the others and discus it"

"Yes" he replied, sighing. Ino yawned out loud, "Well, if you'll excuse me, but I need to sleep" she said, lying back down, "See ya" she said, hanging up.

"Right" Gaara said, hanging up and sitting on the couch in the living room of their suite in Hokage's building, looking at the paper in his hand.

"Still, why would they bother to do something like this? Are those riddles really telling us his position?" he asked himself, sighing heavily. He remembered how Naruto was the one to save him from being a cold hearted murderer, and did his best to save him from Akatsuki. He knew that he owed him, and he was going to save him.

Gaara knew something was fishy about the whole situation. He had this feeling that Naruto wasn't dead.

"Although that would be impossible, I hope I'm right" he said, getting up from the couch and walking towards his bedroom.

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"Ossu!" Lee exclaimed, kicking his leg through the air as _Team Gai_ was the first to arrive to the estimated meeting place.

"What do you have for breakfast?!" Tenten asked, crossing her arms as she leaned on the tree while Neji sat silently on the ground, Indian style.

"I have what Gai-sensei and I call…" he said, thrusting his fist in the air, "…Youthful pancakes which are tiny pancakes that reminds us of our youth"

"Very nice" Neji sarcastically said, closing his eyes. In a couple of minutes, everyone was around and ready to discus the matter at hand. They all stood over Gaara as he sat down on the ground.

"Ok, here's what we figured so far…" Gaara said, laying all five papers on the ground. "Here's our riddle, Ino and I managed to solve the first part which meant east"

"How in the world would '_Where the sun doesn't set'_ mean east?" Kankurou asked, looking down at his brother. "Well, because the sun never sets in the east, or that what we figured" Ino exclaimed, looking at Kankurou who nodded.

"I figured out mine…" Shikamaru said, receiving a nudge from Temari, "…I mean OURS!" he said, stressing on the word, glaring at her before moving his vision towards Gaara.

"Apparently, each number represents a letter from the alphabets, thus, forming Uzumaki Naruto…" Shikamaru said, "…I just don't get how Naruto's full name would help us" receiving a few nods from the others, except for one who didn't like that.

"What kind of an idiot uses that lame riddle?" Kankurou exclaimed, sniggering. In a second, he was face down in the dirt.

"Would you stop complaining?" Tenten said, clearing her throat before moving her attention to the papers.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and pointed at that paper, "What about the rest of riddle?" She asked, looking at Gaara who looked up at Ino.

"Still nothing, I guess" Ino answered, shaking her head. Kankurou sniggered, "Yeah, There's only one place where stars shine bright which is a place with no city lights or pollution, probably in space. I doubt Naruto would be there, unless there's a star country or something…"

Everyone looked at Kankurou while he chuckled on his own before they exchanged looks.

"Oh my god, Kankurou, you're a genius!" Lee exclaimed, jumping around happily. "The hidden village of the Star, _Hoshigakure_, that's our lead!" Lee said, grinning. Everyone chuckled, realizing that those two just solved the mystery.

"But, what is the connection between Naruto and Hoshigakure?" Neji mumbled, narrowing his eyes. Kankurou chuckled.

"Who cares? We figured it out, now didn't we?" he said, high fiving with Lee.

"So, does that mean Naruto's there?"

They all turned around to see Sai and Sakura, standing a couple of feet from the others. Sakura seemed to have been holding back her tears while Sai walked towards them.

"Is there any new information about Naruto?" Sai said, standing next to Kankurou who was glaring at him.

"Alright, back off, pretty boy" he said, looking at Sai's midriff shirt. Sai blankly looked at him, ignoring his statement, before moving his vision to Gaara who got up, standing in front of him.

"Yes, we have. Until we find something positive about his location, we'll tell Tsunade, otherwise, we're working in secret" Gaara said, confronting Sai who narrowed his eyes. "ANBU don't work like this"

"Well, we ain't ANBU so we don't do what the ANBU men do" Kankurou spat, taking a step towards Sai who glared at him. He moved his vision towards Gaara who nodded in agreement with his brother.

"We must gain the information. It's a Jinchuuriki that we're talking about. It's a class S mission. Information must be gained so we can retrieve him" Sai said, crossing his arms.

"Look for them yourselves. We aren't obligated to give them to you…" Gaara said, "…we might give them to you if you want to help us on your own, but as I said, unless we find something useful, we won't―"

"―STOP IT!"

All eyes turned to her crying figure as Sakura ordered them to stop their argument. "That's our friend, our teammate that we're talking about, not some stupid scroll or item that needs to be retrieved…" she said, sobbing,

"…I don't care whether we give the information to Tsunade-sama or not. I just want to find Naruto!" she said, surprising everyone with her choice of words.

Sai and Gaara looked at the ground before the former moved back to her side, apologizing for his actions.

"Alright, we're continuing this…" Gaara said, moving back to the papers as they lay on the ground.

"Nine flames obviously points out to Kyuubi" Neji said, narrowing his eyes at the paper. "…but they aren't supposed to burn our eyes now, would they?" Kiba continued, sighing.

Hinata was nodding in agreement while writing down what they said. "It's probably meant as a metaphor, probably our eyes won't be the way to find him. It would probably force us to use something else" Hinata said, receiving a nod from her teammate. Neji looked at his cousin and nodded in agreement.

"We all know that Naruto could take control of Kyuubi's power for a while…" he said, turning to Sakura. "…what do you know about Naruto's Kyuubi State?" he asked, causing her to flinch at the mention of Naruto and Kyuubi.

"Uh, well, I know a couple of things. I remember when Kakashi-sensei explained it once. He said that when he borrowed Kyuubi's powers, an intense aura formed around his body. This aura was so intense that it actually burned his body and made him bleed, thus making its color turn red…" she said, looking at the ground.

Gaara nodded, "So it does burn…" he mumbled, putting down the paper and moving to the next riddle.

"Silent melody…" Temari mumbled as they started studying Kiba and Hinata's riddle, "…what did they mean by silent melody?" She asked, looking at the others. "Probably some kind of an enchant, maybe a ritual of some sort" Ino exclaimed. Kankurou snorted.

"Since when does silence have a sound?"

_BANG! _

"STOP IT, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!"

Gaara shook his head as his brother and Tenten started another argument. Lee moved behind Gaara and looked at the paper.

"It's ironic that that paper has the word fate in it. Rings a bell, Neji?" Lee said, receiving a glare from the purple-eyed Hyuuga.

"I think this one means that, if we try to help Naruto, only the ones who pass that examination could be the one qualified to save him?" Sai asked, receiving a look from Lee.

"Perhaps" he said, agreeing with his friend. Gaara smirked and directed his words to Sai.

"I thought the same as well…" he said, sighing. "What about this one?" he said, picking up Lee and Kankurou's riddle before looking up at the two.

"No idea" Kankurou said while Lee shrugged. Tenten joined in. "I've got this feeling that it has something to do with Naruto's whereabouts, like, if we were to find him, that's our map" she said, receiving a weird look from Kankurou who decided to stay silent for the time being.

"She's right…" Neji said, "…though it doesn't have much optimism, does it?" he asked, indicating the grim that is in the word _gallows_.

"Actually, they all indicate to several places, possibly leading to Naruto's whereabouts" Gaara said, studying the other riddles as the rest started discussing different theories.

Sakura stood behind, watching how they all did their best to uncover the secret behind these riddles in order to find Naruto. She looked up and sighed, tears in her eyes.

_'Just hang in there, Naruto-kun; we're all coming for you…'_ she thought, walking towards the others and deciding to help them in their solutions.

**

* * *

**

"So, is your 'master' going to send me to Konoha to achieve his sick goal?"

Naruto asked Kitsuke, the man who carried Naruto to and from Sasuke's room, who stood outside the door through the small rectangular hole in the middle of the big metal door.

Naruto frowned once he noticed that the big guy ignored him. "Where is he?" he asked, hoping to get an answer in return.

"Are you deaf or something?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms and sitting Indian style in front of the door. the man stood like a stone outside, not moving a muscle, making Naruto narrow his eyes at him.

"Is there any way I could get you to speak up?" Naruto said; the hint of impatience was clear in his voice. Still, the man hadn't budged.

"Oh, look, there's an escape route!" he said, getting up and pressing his back against the wall, hiding his presence from Kitsuke. The guard turned around and looked through the small sliding peephole in the door.

"Damn, where did he go?" Kitsuke said, getting inside the cell. Naruto smirked as a familiar blue sphere started forming in his hand.

"Rasengan!" he yelled just in time for the guard to turn around.

WHIRL!

The sphere hit him right in the gut, sending him flying a couple of feet away. Naruto chuckled and ran out of the door, slamming it shut on his way out.

"Now to get out of here!" he said, running through the extremely long corridor. Doors were to his left and right, but a feeling told him that the door at the end of the corridor was the door he had to choose.

He found the big door; the light was seeping from beneath it, indicating that he was close to the exit to the outside world. Naruto laughed, running with all his might towards the door, ignoring the pain in his body.

"Finally…" he mumbled, running through the door.

BANG!

His head hit the wall, making him fall back on his butt. Naruto looked up to see a sturdy wall in the door's place. He widened his eyes before turning around to see that he was only a couple of feet away from the cell door.

"What the…?" he mumbled, turning back to look at the wall to be faced with Keira, Sasuke's subordinate, who was holding a metal bar in his hands. He swung it in Naruto's direction…

…then he was met with blackness.

**

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**

**DAMN, He was THIS close! **

**Short chapter, I know, but I didn't know what to put in it so I hope it was enough for one chapter. **

**I know, I know. You'd want to kill me for that! **

**Please review **


	7. Ch:7

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**Reviews:**

Roland Desagare: I somehow wanted them to pick on Sai, especially Kankurou cuz I had that feeling he would hate him in the real series, LOL. Well, you could always try and figure out the rest. Thank you for the review.

Orrin glenn: well, about the numbers. Shikamaru explained in the previous chapter. I'll try to make this chapter long enough

Uzukun7: Hai, hai. But it doesn't point out different locations on the map itself. Read and find out. Thank you for the review.

Rickp2006: Yes, it does. Thank you so much for the review.

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**Arigatou Gozaimasu, minna-san! **

**Thank you very much, everyone, for your great reviews. **

**Please, Enjoy! **

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**The Truth behind the lies, chapter 7**

"So, here's the deal…" Kankurou said, pointing his spiced chicken he had in his hand in his brother's direction. "…we get to Hoshigakure, then figure out the rest of the riddles" he suggested, looking at his brother who sat opposed to him.

Hours have passed since our ninjas managed to solve some of the riddles. Their hungry stomachs got to the best of them, so they decided to take a break and grab a bite. They were all discussing the matter at hand; How to solve the riddles and find Naruto as soon as possible.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at his brother, "That's absurd…" he said, taking a sip from his soup. "…we can't cross hundreds of kilometers without a clue about the rest of the riddles"

"That's right!"

"Thank you, Ino" Gaara answered without looking at Ino who sat next to him. Kankurou glared at her and mocked.

"That's right…" he said in a high-pitched tone, before mumbling under his breath. "…you stupid little―" he paused, noticing that she was glaring quite evilly at him, so he decided to shut up.

"As I was saying…" Gaara said, "…We can't go exploring into nowhere then finding out that we might be wrong" he said, taking another sip from his soup. Neji nodded.

"He's right, unless we're absolutely sure, we can't go wandering into unknown places" he exclaimed, sitting at the end of the table. Kankurou narrowed his eyes.

_'Not only does he have weird eyes, but weird hearing abilities'_ he shook his head, continuing with whatever was in front of him.

"Though he's got a point…" all eyes went to Tenten who was seated next to Neji at the end of the big table.

"…we're going nowhere with the rest of the riddles. Our only lead is the hidden village of the stars―"

"―We don't even know if that's true!" Sai interrupted, causing all eyes to shift to him. "We don't know if Naruto's location IS in the Star village!" he firmly continued.

"Sai's right…" Kiba said, "…In the riddle Hinata and I found, it said _'hear the words of the silent melody'_, that could mean it's in the hidden village of the sound!"

"…and in our riddle, the gallows lies _beneath the sea_…" Lee joined in, "…the hidden village of water" he continued, looking at his food. Sakura looked at each and every one of them, noticing that as the choices multiplied, their hopes sank lower.

"At least it narrows it down to three places" She said, trying to cheer everyone up, including herself. Sakura got up and walked away, with everyone's eyes following her.

"I-I think she's feeling down…" Hinata said, poking her food. "…It's no wonder, she's got her hopes so high in finding him" she said, looking at Kiba who was next to her.

Lee looked at her and decided to follow her, but stopped once he felt a tug on his hand. "Don't…" Sai said, looking up at his friend, "…she might need some time alone." he continued, going back to eating his supper. Lee looked at him then at her retreating back before sitting down and eating what's left of his food.

* * *

"Uchiha-sama, please…"

"…You're not worth it!"

"…I beg of you, I'll…make it right next time"

"There won't be a next time!"

Blood curdling scream woke Naruto up, making him look around him like a madman. He could make faint voices outside his door. The pain shot up in his body, making him hold his sides.

"Damn it…" he said, getting off of his usual stone bed. He first wondered why he was in there instead of outside where he was.

He looked at the ground as he remembered that he tried to run, but he was caught. _'Was I caught in some sort of genjutsu?'_ he asked himself, before looking at the metal door.

He walked with heavy steps towards the door, anxious to know who was behind that scream. Naruto reached for the door and kneeled, coming face to face with the lid of the rectangular hole in the door.

He sighed, reaching out his fingers to open the lid, hoping to see something to clarify his doubts.

"Whatcha doing?"

"SHIT!" Naruto crawled backwards, startled by the red Sharingan eyes of the Uchiha. He realized that Sasuke opened the lid at the same time he wanted to.

"You're still the same, scaredy cat" he mocked, chuckling in his own evil way. Naruto gritted his teeth, his fingernails almost digging through the ground.

"What's going on?!" Naruto asked, curious getting the best of him. "I've heard―"

"―someone scream? It's all in your head, Naruto" Sasuke said, his eyes could tell that there was a smirk on his face. Naruto gritted his teeth. "If it's all in my head, how come you knew?" Naruto asked, hoping to catch the Uchiha off guard.

"Well, because I can see what's in your little foxy head" he said, getting up and letting go of the lid, chuckling manically.

"WAIT, SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, crawling towards the door. Naruto couldn't hear his steps anymore, indicating that he probably stopped.

"W-What are you going to make me do?" Naruto asked in a faint voice. He realized since Sasuke probably got full control over him, he might make him do the unthinkable.

Sasuke chuckled, "Hm, you're being very impatient. Once they get here, you'll know" he said, walking off.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, banging on the wall. "Don't walk away from me, you stupid Son of a bitch!"

"Relax. You're not benefiting anyone with cursing the life out of yourself" Sasuke said, walking off, ignoring every word Naruto was saying as he banged on the metal door.

A couple of seconds later, the slams died down. Naruto turned around and leaned his back against the door, breathing heavily.

"Damn it…" he cursed, burying his face in his hands. Naruto looked up and at the barred window. From the moon, he could tell that it's nearing midnight. Rain drops started falling down quietly as the weather became colder by the second.

He chuckled, _'time runs by quickly, I see'_ he thought, lightly banging his head against the door, closing his eyes as the sound of the trickling water drops from the ceiling was the only sound heard…

"…be careful, Sakura-chan…"

* * *

She opened her eyes and sat up, resting a hand on her chest.

_'It hurts…'_ she thought, trying to hold back the tears that started to flow down her cheeks. She didn't know what was going on, only that her chest hurt her as if she was gasping for breath. She got up and moved out of her bed, her house very cold.

"Damn it, I thought I turned the heat system on!" she said, knowing that without heat, winter in Konoha is a deadly one.

She got out of bed, expecting to put her feet in her fluffy shoes, but there was none. She looked at the ground to see that they were gone.

Sakura looked around her room and widened her eyes. It was no longer her room; the structure was still the same but it wasn't her room anymore. It was dark and cold with brick walls.

"W-Where…the hell am I?" she asked herself, moving her feet to the ground before gasping out loud.

"Cold, too cold" she mumbled, holding her arms. She looked around for any sign of her robe, but it looks like her room has been emptied.

She hugged herself, walked towards the door and opened it; the metal door knob almost stuck to her hand for it was too cold against her warm hand. She shivered, hugging herself tighter as she realized that the hallway was freezing.

"Damn it" she cursed, walking along the familiar hallway. The more she walked towards the stairs, the colder it got and the worst it got for her to be able to walk.

_'If either Lee or Sai messed up my ventilation system, they're dead'_ she thought, walking down the stairs. As soon as her bare feet touched the stairway, she gasped.

"W-w-what's going on here?!"

Droplets of water covered the stairs. Sakura gulped, walking down the stairs; step-by-step till she reached the empty living room, only some sort of operating table was in the middle with chains and shackles on it.

She looked around the dark room which was illuminated by the moonlight coming through the windows.

"Sai…?" she called out, "…Lee? Is anyone there?"

"Sa-kura-chan…"

She froze, her breath caught in her throat. It got colder by the second as she heard the voice of someone she knew dearly, again.

"…be careful…"

She turned around to come face to face with Naruto, standing in front of her with narrowed eyes.

"N-Na…" she mumbled, unable to speak in the, now, unbearable coldness. "N-Naruto…" she said, her tears strolling down her cheeks.

"…Sasuke…"

Her eyes widened as the room got colder, her tears freezing on her cheeks as he looked at her with empty eyes. "Wha― how…" she mumbled, shaking her head. Naruto kept looking at her with that empty expression, his hand slowly reaching for her face.

"…his plan…"

She froze as his hand almost touched her skin, "…warn the others…he's not who he is anymore…"

She closed her eyes, wanting to feel his hand on her cheek, wanting to hug him and never let him go. Sakura knew it was some sort of illusion.

"You're dead, Naruto-kun…" she mumbled, feeling his hand on her cheek, cold yet loving. "…it's not true"

"Sakura..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears strolling out uncontrollably.

"Hey, Sakura…"

She opened her eyes, wanting to see his face again. But she was faced with what looked like her ceiling. A pair of big round black eyes entered her line of vision.

"Sakura-san, are you ok?!"

She sat up, looking at her surroundings. Sakura realized she was in her small and pink room, in her warm bed, with no sign of Naruto or the cold and horrible state the house was in. Only Lee remained in her bedroom, sitting on her bed.

"Where's he?!" She blurted, still looking around. Lee knotted his eyebrows and looked quizzically at her.

"Where's who?"

"Naruto!"

Lee looked at Sakura and sighed, "Sakura-san, it's just a dream, you're delusional―"

"―It's not a dream! I saw him, he was in the living room, and it felt so real!"

"Sakura!"

She flinched when he yelled her name, "Listen to me…" he quieted down, sighing. "Don't you remember yesterday?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, uncertain of where Lee's words were leading. She shook her head, not remembering a single thing about the previous night.

"We found you….In the graveyard, again. Rain was pouring, if Sai and I didn't get there in time…" he said, looking at her with narrowed eyes before sighing. "You can't do this to yourself, Sakura"

"I…" she said, "I-I don't remember" she said, looking at the ground. She suddenly sneezed. Lee knew she was getting a cold.

"Bless you"

She nodded and thanked him before looking up at him, "What happened? I don't remember a thing about last night."

"You mean you don't remember going to the graveyard?!" Lee asked, looking worriedly at Sakura who shook her head.

"N-No, not at all" she said, moving a hand to her forehead as she felt a pain shoot up in her head.

"You've been asleep for almost a day…" he said, looking outside the window. "...everyone decided to rest since they've been working on the riddles this morning" he said, moving his hand to hers. "They're working hard, Sakura, we all are. Please have faith in us" he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. She squeezed back and nodded.

"I'll make you something to eat, don't move or even get out of bed!" Lee said, moving off the bed and out of the bedroom. Sakura looked at her bed, grabbed her sheets and sighed before leaning backwards, lying down.

"Naruto…" she mumbled, closing her eyes as she started to repeat Naruto's words.

"…be careful. Sasuke, his plan, warn the others. He's not who he is anymore…" she mumbled, opening her eyes and looking at the ceiling. _'Could Sasuke be alive? That's impossible. Tsunade-sama told us that he died!'_ she said, remembering how she and Naruto got the news.

"If Sasuke appeared to be alive, then that means that Naruto-kun could also be…" she mumbled, sighing heavily.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura gasped, moving her head to the door to see Sai, smirking her way. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"Sai..."

"Did I scare ya?" he said, still leaning on the door frame. Sakura shook her head as he walked towards her.

"I have to find him" she said, looking at the ceiling. Sai pulled her desk's chair and put it next to the bed, sitting down.

"Find who?"

"Naruto-kun, I'm going to find him" She said, getting herself up. Sai walked towards her and pushed her down. "No, you should rest"

"I'm fine!" she yelled, pushing him backwards with full force, causing him to trip and fall on the chair, breaking it.

She looked at him and got up, noticing that she was still in her clothes. Sakura grabbed the sides of her head, wincing at the pain.

_'Must've got up quickly'_ she thought as Sai was getting off of the ground. She narrowed her eyes and moved back to the bed, only this time she stood on it.

Sai got up, seeing that she was opening the window. "Sa-Sakura, what are you―"

…and she simply jumped down two stories high…

"SAKURA!" he yelled, running towards the window. He looked down to see her looking up at him.

"I have to find him, Sai" she repeated, running away. Sai slammed his fist on the windowsill and moved off the bed, planning on telling Lee.

* * *

"Why didn't you follow her?"

Gaara asked as the group gathered again in their meeting place. Sai looked at the ground and shook his head, knotting his eyebrows. "I don't know, I was too nervous"

Kankurou sighed, "This is not good" he said, looking at the others. Neji looked at Lee who appeared to be in deep thoughts, probably now worried about his friend

"Where do you think she's headed?" he asked, making his teammate look up at him. Before Lee spoke up, someone beat him to it.

"I'm here"

Everyone turned their eyes to the pink haired Kunoichi who stood next to one of the trees, looking tired and fatigued. Sai ran to her side, holding her forearms.

"Where have you been? You got us all worried about you" he said, his voice softer than before. Sakura looked up to him and nodded.

"I know and I'm sorry…" she said, resting a hand on his chest and pushing him slightly aside.

Everyone's eyes glued to Sakura as she walked towards them, "There's something you guys should know" she said, clasping her hands together. Ino narrowed her eyes, "Well, speak up! What is it?"

Sakura looked at Ino before moving her eyes to the ground. "I…I think…" she said, taking a deep breath. "I think that I was contacted last night" she said, speaking vaguely to the others. Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Who contacted you?" he asked again, making Sakura look at all of them before moving her eyes to the ground again.

"Naruto"

Gasps were heard from the girls while the guys were a bit surprised. "How could you be contacted by him?"

"I don't know. Telepathy, something"

Kankurou sniggered, "You can't possibly be a ghost whisperer" he said, shaking his head. "Heck, it's impossible for someone to get in your head"

"I can!"

"No one asked for your opinion, Blondie!" Kankurou growled before looking at Sakura who nervously chuckled.

"I know, but he…he told me to warn the others"

Neji narrowed his eyes, "Warn the others? About what?" he asked the question Sakura didn't want to answer. She closed her eyes to remember his words.

"It was about a plan…" she started, moving her vision to the ground. "…and Sasuke"

Ino narrowed her eyes, taking a step towards her friend. "Sasuke?! Sakura, we all know that Sasuke-kun is dead!" she exclaimed, a hint of pain was in her voice. After all, everyone knew that Ino and Sakura both had something for the Uchiha prodigy.

Sakura shook her head and turned around, "I know, I know that…" she said, looking at the ground. "I just can't help but to feel that both Naruto-kun and Sasuke are alive..." she said, turning around to see the quizzical look everyone was giving her. "…I know it sounds crazy, but I just…" she said, putting a hand on her chest, "…I just feel it"

A couple of minutes later, everyone decided to hear the full version of Sakura's story; how her house was too cold and how Naruto visited. They all tried to find a link between the things she's just said.

"Sakura, you were under the rain for too long yesterday. You could've gotten a fever and started seeing things…again"

Shikamaru started, causing Sakura to look at him with knotted eyebrows. "I'm telling you, I'm sure it wasn't a dream. I haven't thought about Sasuke for quite a while, why would Naruto warn me about him?"

Everyone remained silent while they tried to find a solution for that mystery as well. "Let's just accept that fact…" Kiba started, looking at the others. "…Let's say that Sakura could actually communicate with Naruto, that he warned her about Sasuke and whatever his plan is. The question is: Why?"

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "Why what?" he said, waiting for Kiba to continue. "Why would Sasuke be mentioned in this whole thing? Why did Naruto ask Sakura to warn us about him?"

Everyone thought about Kiba's words for a second while Sakura looked at the ground, thinking about a fact she never thought of.

"No one ever told us…" she started, causing all eyes to shift to her direction. "…they never told us about Sasuke-kun"

Temari narrowed her eyes at her direction, "What do you mean by that?" she asked, crossing her arms. Sakura looked at her before looking to the side.

"No matter how many times we ask…" she said, moving her vision to Temari, "…no one told us about Sasuke-kun's body"

Neji narrowed his eyes, "I wonder why they never did that?" he asked, looking at Sakura who shook her head.

Shikamaru sighed, "Maybe there's something behind it that no body knows about" he said, speaking up his mind.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "That means that there's a possibility that he's still alive!" He exclaimed, smirking.

Sai nodded, "He's right. I'll ask Tsunade-sama about it…" he said, getting up. All eyes turned to him, "I'm an ANBU member. I get information easily"

"But you're not allowed to give information yet" Kankurou interrupted, glaring at him. Sai smirked.

"Who said anything about giving information?" he said, saluting to his friends. "Ja na!" he said, disappearing into a puff of smoke. Sakura kept her eyes where her friend was standing before moving it the ground.

"Sakura…" she heard Neji say, causing her to move her eyes to him. "…We'll find him, both of them" he said, nodding reassuringly.

Gaara sighed and got up. "Well, I think it's better if we all went home

* * *

Tsunade was smiling slyly as she was pouring herself a third cup of Sake which was hidden in the drawer of her desk. She hummed to herself as she raised the cup to her lips...

KNOCK, KNOCK!

The knocking startled her, causing her to pour sake all over herself. "Damn it!" she said, trying to wipe it away with the back of her hand. She decided to leave it off for now and deal with things at hand.

"C'mon in" she yelled, causing the door to open. Sai walked confidently into the office, looking at his leader right in the eye before kneeling on the ground.

"Tsunade-sama" he started, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Tsunade sighed, "Get up…" she said, motioning with her hand. "…what is it this time?" she asked, causing him to get up and look her right in the eye. He knew she was in a bad mood, be he decided to go on with his mission.

"I have a question to ask, if you don't mind. It's for a series of researches I'm working on…" he said, trying to cover up for the real reason behind his big question. Tsunade leaned forward in her chair and narrowed her eyes.

"What's your question, Sai?" she asked, knowing that there was something hidden behind those black eyes of his.

"It's about the team 7 member I was replaced with, Uchiha Sasuke…"

Tsunade widened her eyes, but quickly narrowed them, leaning back in her chair. "What brought that up?"

"I've been interested in the Uchiha clan massacre. I've heard that only two members remained, well, one for now: Uchiha Itachi…" he said, "…but that's not who I'm asking about. I was wondering if I could have information about Uchiha Sasuk―"

"―I'm afraid that's not possible" she said, looking at her desk. Sai narrowed her eyes, _'Shikamaru was right; there is something behind all this'_

"May I ask why?"

"It's none of your business. That's final!" she firmly said, looking up at him. Sai never blinked or broke the eye contact; instead, he narrowed his eyes at his superior.

"Does it have to do with the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto's body?"

Tsunade flinched, "What brought that up now?"

"What are you hiding, Hokage-sama?" he said, taking a step closer to the desk. "Why weren't his close friends told about Sasuke's body? Why didn't you explain it to Sakura and Naruto that their―?"

"―because…" she interrupted, sighing heavily. Sai narrowed his eyes, _'She's about to fess up'_ he thought as Tsunade leaned forward in her chair.

"…because Uchiha Sasuke's body…" she said, narrowing her eyes at Sai. "…was never found"

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**EEK!! Another EVIL cliffy!!! I LOVE ME!! **

**Sorry for the big delay and thank you for your patience. Please review xD **

**Ja ne!! **


	8. Ch:8

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**Reviews:**

Gnosismaster: LoL! Where have I seen that noez? Wasn't it in Naruto abridged series xP? Thanks for the review xD. I'm glad you liked it.

Master Zero raid: Hey, thanks for your review. I'm glad you like it so far xD

Rickp2006: yes, that question will be answered in this chapter. Thanks for the review.

Vanni: _-evil laugh-_ well, start writing again. It feels great xD, LoL, thank you for the review. I'm glad you like this story.

Uzumaki's fire: Aww, I'm not glad that you did not like my cliffy xP but thx for the review, glad you liked the story.

Uzukun7: Hey, glad to see your review, friend. I'm glad you like the twists in my little head xP. Thanks for the review.

Saka salrin: HEY, I'm REALLY happy to see your review here. I'm TOTALLY, I repeat, TOTALLY not a _SakuNaru_ person, but I'm still devoted to the readers who asked for a sequel, making me like this pairing for a moment. Other couples might be included as well, but it will still remain MAINLY as _SakuNaru_. Thank you for your review. I'm so glad you liked the story.

Hymir: YAY! I'm glad you think it's still good cuz I'm feeling that it's losing it xD. In one way of another, you're telling me to go long with the story. I think it might go till chapter 20 or less, cuz I got my share of long stories in _Please Remember_ (Which was 31 chapters long!). So, yeah, not soon, but not too soon xD. Thx for the review.

Weixuan18: OMG, You read my mind. LOL! No, It's not going to be like that, it's a bit too cliché, don't you agree? I'll twist the story even more, Ja na! Thanks for the review.

Darkide: _-falls off cliff-_ AAAAAH!! LOL. The shippūden movie is supposed to be out on August 4th. I'm so glad you like this story and thank you for the complement on my writing style. I'm very glad to read this review, honestly. I hope to see your review on this chapter as well. Cheerio, thank you for the review!!

* * *

**I want to send a special thanks to (Orrin Glenn) for the idea of using the TELEPATHY/DREAM thingy to let the two communicate. So, the credit is not fully to me, but to OG as well. Arigatou gozaimasu! **_–bow-_

**Yeah, Okay. I'm sure you're all thinking, "Where in the world is this chick going with the story?", and "When will she finish it?" and "will Sakura and Naruto fight?!" **

**LoL, Lots and lots of twists are on the way, dudes. Oh, MAJOR NON-SAKUNARU FLUFF IN THIS CHAPTER!! **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 8:**

"See ya!" Kiba said, being the last to leave the place. The clock was nearing 7 o'clock, sunset was near and everyone was getting tired. The puzzles were given to Gaara, since he volunteered to try and solve them while the others take the rest of the day off. They agreed on meeting on the next day as well, continuing with their attempts.

Sakura waved goodbye and looked at the ground. Lee, who sat across of her, looked at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Sakura-san…" he started, causing her to look up at him. "…You need to get some rest, physically and emotionally" he said, scooping a bit closer to her.

"I'm fine, Lee…" she said, shaking her head. "…It's just a bit too much"

Lee narrowed his eyes, remembering how hard it was for her to hear about his death, how hard it was for her to move on. How bad he and Sai tried to prevent her from going back into the rain the day they visited his grave.

"I know how you feel" he said, looking at the ground, "but like I said, have―"

"―have faith in you guys, I know" she exclaimed, sighing heavily before she started sobbing lightly. Lee was about to say a word when…

"I'm fine, Lee, I'm…" she said in between sobs as they grew louder. Lee pulled himself up to his knees and leaned towards her, putting his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

"It's ok…" he said, trying to calm her increasing sobs as she clutched to his vest. She pulled back and looked up at him, "I just…I don't know, realizing that both Sasuke and Naruto might be alive just brought back everything and…" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

"….and I just can't take it anymore" she said, crying out loud. Lee sighed, hugging her tighter.

"Please, hang in there" he whispered, trying to calm her down. The sound of footsteps made him look up at whoever showed up.

"Hey guys…" Sai said, looking worriedly at Sakura who was in tears. "…what happened?!" he asked, looking right in Lee's eyes.

"It's nothing…" she said as she pulled out of Lee's embrace, wiping away her tears. "…Did you find anything from Tsunade-sama?"

Sai narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. "No, she didn't say a thing" he said, looking at the ground. Lee noticed that Sai was hiding something but decided to ignore that fact, seeing that taking care of Sakura came first. He looked at the girl in his arms and hugged her one last time.

"C'mon, Sakura, Let's take you home"

* * *

He opened his eyes to find himself in the same sewer hallway. He looked around the torch-illuminated hallways for any sign of anyone.

"How did I get here?" he mumbled, deciding to walk to the end of the corridor, the knee-high water was preventing him from walking in a fast pace, so he decided to take it slowly.

He narrowed his eyes once he reached the big hall with the cage. Naruto already knew that he was in his sub-consciousness and that this world was Kyuubi's realm.

Naruto's eyes widened once he saw the hint of black, white and purple form standing in front of Kyuubi. He walked closer towards the figure, finally knowing who it was.

"Sasuke!"

Once he heard his name being called, he turned around with a smirk on his face. "Ah, Naruto, I see you're paying your bijuu a visit"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he sensed the sarcasm in the Uchiha's voice. "…I was asking your friend here…" he said, pointing at Kyuubi's cage, "…if he's willing to cooperate with us"

"With you?" Naruto said, narrowing his eyes, realizing Sasuke's plan. "You're planning to release him!"

Sasuke laughed, "C'mon, if I planned to release him now, I would've let you do that when you had the chance…" he said, smirking, "….but you're clever, Naruto, I have to admit. You saw right through my plan, excellent work!"

Naruto hated the sarcasm, never appreciated it, especially from guys like Sasuke. He took a step closer to his ex-teammate. "Why?! Why do you want to release him? Where are you planning to do―?"

"―Aaah, please, enough!" Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Can't you stop complaining just for once?"

"How do you expect me not to complain when you're planning to attack my village? _Our_ village, Sasuke!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and turned his head to face the blonde. "I defected…"

Naruto widened his eyes. He might've known that but he never thought he'd hear it from him.

"I have so many questions―"

"―I'm not in the mood to answer them" Sasuke interrupted, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. The latter looked at Kyuubi who was nowhere in sight.

"Where is it?!"

"_It_?" Sasuke said, smirking and stressing on the word. "You're underestimating him…"

"Whatever"

"…You must live, for him to live on as well" he continued, ignoring the blonde's words. Naruto sighed, shaking his head.

"What are you doing here anyway? How can you see him?!" he asked, a bit surprised. Sasuke smirked.

"You don't know me anymore, Naruto. It's about time you step aside and let me handle things _my_ way" he said, raising his hand in Naruto's direction.

"Whatever you're planning isn't gonna work" Naruto said, looking at Sasuke who smirked one last time before raising his head, his smirk turning into a malicious smile on his face while his eyes were still glued at Naruto.

The latter gritted his teeth and lunged at him, "Sasuke! I won't let―"

His eyes shot open and he abruptly sat up, panting. He looked in front of him to see Sasuke, or a blur of him. Things happened so fast that his figure was still visible until it slowly disappeared.

"Kyuubi…" Naruto mumbled, touching his stomach where the seal was located. "…what's your plan, Sasuke? What do you want to do with it?"

His head jerked up on the sound of the locks of the door being unlocked and the squeal of the rusty metal as it was slowly opened, revealing a man in grey hair, dark eyes with round glasses Naruto knew by the name of Yakushi Kabuto.

"Naruto-kun, I'm here to check on you"

Naruto snorted after those words, shaking his head before laughing sarcastically. "No kidding. Sasuke has some morals? I've never knew that"

Kabuto smirked, ignoring Naruto's comments while walking towards him. He adjusted his glasses' position on the bridge of his nose.

"A change of plan has happened…" he said, walking closer to Naruto's bed. The latter narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently…" he said, standing next to the stone bed. "…Sasuke-sama decided to come out"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Come out? What do you mean?" he said, getting up and standing up to him.

Kabuto smirked, "You know, come out. To show himself…." He said, smirking. "…you've become such a slow person, Naruto, come to think of it…" he said, reaching for something in his pocket. "…you've always been a slow person, Naruto-kun"

Naruto's eyes widened when he felt a stab in the side of his neck before things started to look blurry to him.

"He's going to welcome your friends himself" Kabuto said, chuckling as Naruto hit the ground. "He got too bored of waiting" he said, taking one last look at Naruto before he turned to the door where the big guy, Kitsuke, was standing.

"Take him"

"Yes, sir"

And with that, Kitsuke walked towards Naruto and carried his unconscious body outside the cell and to where Sasuke wanted him to be.

* * *

He took one last look at the sleeping Kunoichi before closing her bedroom door to let her rest, making sure not to make too much noise. He sighed, deciding to spend the rest of the night clearing his head of any thought. As soon as he turned around, he was met with a very narrowed-eyed Lee.

"Shit, can't you just, for once, make some noise while you're coming up behind me?!" Sai said, crossing his arms. Lee chuckled.

"Yeah, 'coming up behind you' and 'noise' don't always accompany each other in one sentence" he said, walking towards the stairs. Sai followed him quietly down the stairs. "They just did!" Sai said, grinning. Lee laughed and continued on to the living room.

Then he suddenly turned around to face Sai. "There's something you know but not telling…" Lee said, narrowing his eyes at Sai who grimaced at once.

"…Something about Sasuke. I could tell from the moment you showed up in the woods" he continued, forcing Sai to smirk.

"She didn't tell me anything" he said, turning around to walk off. He was stopped by a strong tug on his arm which made him turn back around. Sai looked at his arm before raising his vision to meet Lee's black eyes.

"You're going to tell me what you know. I won't allow her to suffer anymore!" he said, tightening his grip on the ANBU member's arm, making him wince but no quite showing it.

Sai could tell the hint of anxiety in his voice, making him smirk. "You care about her, don't you?"

"Of course I―"

"―As in MORE than just good friends…" Sai continued, smirking at the now blushing Lee. The latter let go of Sai's arm and crossed his own.

"Look, I'm just concerned. With every day passing by, she keeps thinking about him, both of them, causing her to get even more unstable―"

"―Why don't you stop thinking about them for once and think about yourself?!" Sai interrupted, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"What are you, insane?!" Lee yelled, glaring at Sai who looked at the ground. "Look, I…I'm just worried about her, besides, the information you have might help us to find Naruto-kun"

Sai nodded and sighed heavily, sitting down. Lee sat down and kept his eyes glued to his friend who slowly looked up at him.

"Tsunade-sama told me that the body of Uchiha Sasuke was never found…"

Lee gasped, his eyes widening. "Nani?!…" he said, looking at the ground. Sai sighed.

"…you'll never believe the reason behind not telling anyone…"

Lee looked at Sai who closed his eyes. "What is it? Why didn't they tell anyone?" Lee frantically asked, looking at Sai who slowly opened his eyes with a smirk across his face.

* * *

Sasuke took one last look at Naruto's unconscious body which was lying comfortably on his own bed as the blonde was sound asleep. He smirked, knowing that his plan is soon to be done.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…" he said, narrowing his eyes. "…my friend" he took one last look at his body with the corner of his eye before walking out the door.

* * *

Lee's eyes widened as Sai told him the truth. "W-What?!"

Sai nodded, "Apparently, Orochimaru's underground facility was burned to ashes. They didn't find any body. So everyone was presumed dead"

Lee looked at the ground before jerking his head towards Sai, "O-Orochimaru! What about Orochimaru?"

Sai shook his head, "They found his Akatsuki ring, from the days when he was a member, among the ashes, so they claimed him to be dead" Sai continued, leaving Lee in an utter and complete shock. He leaned forward and held the sides of his head.

Sai sniggered, "You still wanna tell her about it? She'll be devastated to know that their best friend might've killed Orochimaru and is still alive" he said, getting up and stretching. Lee looked up at him, "Where are you going?"

"Home"

And with that, he walked slowly towards the door and out of the house, leaving Lee alone in the living room, trying to register what his friend just said and trying to think of a way to tell Sakura what he just knew.

* * *

"Are you sure you guys are ready for this?"

Tsunade said as she held the papers in her hand, studying them before moving her eyes towards the red haired young man who was in front of her desk.

He nodded, "Yes, I believe it's time for us to start the real work" Gaara said, sitting on the chair that was in Hokage's office. She closed her eyes and put the notes on the desk, resting her hands over them. Gaara didn't like the calm state she was in, he preferred when she spoke something.

"Tsuna―"

"―How many of you are going?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her desk, intertwining her fingers together. Gaara took a deep breath.

"The same search party" he said, "It would be better to take someone who knows the whole situation…" he said, looking at Tsunade with a straight face. "…and I believe that each and everyone who found the riddles should be coming along―"

"―Who are those guys, the ones that found the riddles with you?" She interrupted, leaning back in her chair. Gaara narrowed his eyes, trying to remember each and every member.

"There was me and Ino, and…Shikamaru and Temari. There was Kankurou and…Lee, I think. Also Neji, Hinata, Tenten and Kiba" he said, still thinking whether there was someone else. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"You don't expect me to send the best of the best in a mission outside Konoha, leaving it defenseless, do you?"

"It's not totally defenseless. I believe there're still lots of Jonins and talented Ninjas…" Gaara said, leaning forward, "…I can hire Sand ninjas to assist you in defense against anything"

Tsunade sighed and shook her head, "No need, I think we can manage…" she said, looking at the paper before moving her eyes towards him again "…what about Sai and Sakura? Weren't they with you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Gaara shook his head, closing his eyes.

"No…" he said, opening his eyes. "…Sai wasn't with us and Sakura decided she'd find him. So I presume they were together" he said, receiving a nod from Tsunade.

"So, they were searching for any information to help them AND you find Naruto" she said, receiving a nod from Gaara. "Yes, that's true" he replied, taking a deep breath and waiting for her to reply.

Tsunade nodded slowly and bit her bottom lip. Gaara was quickly becoming impatient as she started tapping her fingernails on the table, trying to see whether she was giving the right order or not.

"I see…" she said after a long pause. Gaara noticed she was in some sort of trance, her eyes became clouded. A few seconds later, she blinked a couple of times, bringing the color back to her hazel eyes.

"Alright" She said, opening one of the drawers of her desk and reaching out for a scroll. Gaara heaved a sigh once he noticed her writing something on the scroll then stamping it with the Hokage stamp. She rolled the scroll, looking at Gaara.

"Show this to Kotetsu and Izumo at the gate. They will be able to contact you once you need them. I'll give you 48 hours to prepare yourself for the departure" she said, handing the scroll to Gaara who took it, nodding.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama" he said, nodding his head respectfully before turning around and walking off.

"Gaara…"

He stopped and turned around, "Yes?" he replied, looking at her. She had a stern look on her face.

"Don't let Sakura go with you…" she said, looking at her desk. Gaara turned to face her fully. "Why not?!"

"She'll only get in the way. I've been watching her the past few days. She'll break down once she leaves the village" Tsunade said, keeping her face stern and straight. Gaara nodded, understanding the situation.

"Understood!" he replied with a nod before walking off and out the door.

* * *

It was nearing 10pm and Lee was very frustrated after hearing two things: A) Sasuke's unfound body and B) his own confession that he liked Sakura as _'more than friends'_.

He got out of Sakura's house, knowing that it'll probably be safe to leave her for now, and decided to take a stroll. He shivered as he figured wearing his tight green jumpsuit wasn't helping him in that season.

Lee sighed, "This is shameful…" he mumbled, "…youths don't give up their most precious things because of some stupid cold weather" he said, sliding his hands down his vest's pockets.

As he walked straight down Konoha's main street, he looked up at the starry sky and smiled sadly. "I wonder if we'll be able to find you, Naruto-kun" he stopped walking, keeping his eyes glued to the sky.

"I never knew you had a habit of speaking to yourself"

Lee lowered his vision to see Gaara, standing a couple of feet away from him. Lee blushed, "Y-Yeah, old habit" Lee said, getting a bit embarrassed.

Gaara smirked, "It actually helps sometimes" He said, looking at the ground while walking towards Lee. The latter nodded and kept his eyes on the red-head as he walked past him. Lee turned around and kept looking at him.

Gaara stopped, turning his head to the side. "Care to join?" he said, putting a small smile on his face. Lee blinked a couple of times and nodded, walking towards Gaara and next to him as the two started walking along.

"Say, what were you doing at the Hokage building? Are you staying there?" Lee asked, receiving a nod from the red-haired. "Yes, I'm staying there for the time being" Gaara said, looking at Lee. "Oh, you reminded me…" he said, stopping in his tracks, causing Lee to stop as well. He reached out for a scroll from his side pocket.

Lee narrowed his eyes as the scroll was handed to him, "What's that?!" he said, looking at the closed scroll.

"That's an order from Tsunade. Our search for Naruto has been approved" Gaara said, causing Lee to look up at him with widened eyes. "How did you…?"

Gaara shrugged, "Told her about the riddles!" he simply said. Lee nodded and smiled. "Can't wait to tell Sakura about this!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes, certain words running through his memory:

_"Don't let Sakura go with you. She'll only get in the way. I've been watching her the past few days. She'll break down once she leaves the village"_

Gaara looked at Lee who had a happy expression on his face as he studied the scroll. The heavy sigh that he let out made Lee look up at him.

"What is it?" Lee asked, noticing that Gaara had something to say.

_'Something not very good'_

"Lee…" Gaara started, keeping his face stern. "…Sakura can't go with us" he continued, receiving a quizzical look from the wide-eyed Ninja.

"Let me guess, she said she's emotional?" Lee said, handing over the scroll and receiving a nod from Gaara. "Sort of, in my opinion, I think she ought to stay here as well" he said, taking the scroll from Lee.

"So you're telling me not to tell her"

"Yet"

Lee nodded, "Well, I guess I could tell her later, then" he said, nodding. "I'll go tell Sai, he's gonna be happy about it" Lee said, waving at the red-haired shinobi and running off.

Gaara watched him as he ran down the road before flash-stepping up to the roofs and into the distance. He sighed and slid his hands, and the scroll, in his pockets, continuing on with his night stroll.

* * *

He was drawing another painting of his. Another portrait was well done in less than an hour. Sai sighed, placing his painting brush in its rightful place, and took a good look at what he's drawn.

It was another picture of her, the one he wanted to protect. The one he got so close to in the past year. In the portrait, she was in a small room with one window, wearing a beautiful grey gown that was swiftly dragged behind her while she looked at it with brightness in her eyes. He figured someone may ask, why grey? It's a lifeless color. He thought grey would perfectly let her beautiful hair color stand out.

He laughed, alone in that dark room.

_"You care about her, don't you? As in MORE than just good friends"_

He laughed at his own words. The words he told Lee, turned out to be the words of his own consciousness, repeating them in his own head.

Sai looked at his hands which were covered with paint strokes. He balled them and got up, walking towards the bathroom when…

"Sai?"

He paused, knowing that she was there the whole time. "Sakura…" he said, looking at the girl who stood by the door.

Since he was an ANBU member, noticing someone's Chakura was an easy task for him, helping him to identify someone's presence and Identity. The girl started walking towards his portrait. He watched how she stopped before it and reached for it, touching the dress.

"This is nice…" she mumbled, looking at the ground. Sai narrowed his eyes, deciding to divert her attention from the painting. "What are you doing here? Wasn't Lee supposed to be with you?"

Sakura shook her head, "Uh, no…" she said, rubbing the back of her head. "…was he supposed to?" she said, looking quizzically at Sai who sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"That idiot, how did he leave you alone?" Sai said, crossing his arms. She shrugged and sat down, looking around the room. She noticed many painting leaning against the walls, not hanged.

Sakura also noticed that she was the subject of a majority of the portraits, causing her to narrow her eyes, deciding to ask the ANBU member about his hobby.

"Sai?" she asked, looking at where her friend was standing. "Sai?!" she noticed that he wasn't there. The sound of running water made her realize he went to the bathroom. Sakura sat silently for a couple of minutes till she heard the click of the bathroom door and saw him come out.

"Sorry, I had to wash the paint off" he said, raising his hands in front of him, indicating the situation. She looked up at him and nodded, looking at the ground.

Sai tilted his head to the side and rested his hands on his hips, "What's the matter, Sakura?" he asked, looking at her as she fumbled with her hands before looking up at him.

"Sasuke-kun…" she mumbled, shaking her head. "…I don't think Sasuke-kun is dead…" she continued, forcing Sai to narrow his eyes.

"…I'm pretty sure he's not. Otherwise, they would've told us more about his body…" She said, shivering. Sai noticed that she began to cry.

"…Tsunade-sama was supposed to tell us, but…but she never did" She said, burying her face in her hands. Sai looked at the ground and walked towards his friend, sitting next to her. He wanted to drape his arm around her, but he hesitated for some reason.

_'Why am I hesitating? She needs someone to support her through―'_

His thoughts were cut when she buried her face in his chest, catching him off guard. He blinked a couple of times before wrapping his arms around her, whispering soothing words to her.

Sakura sobbed, looking up at him. They both paused, noticing how close they were to each other. Sai didn't blink or move a muscle, except when he inched his face closer, claiming her lips with his.

Sakura gasped, widened her eyes but soon closed them, going deeper and lost into the kiss. Sai reached for her cheek, deepening the kiss even more while his other hand rested around her waist. She still had her hands on his chest before slowly snaking them up to his neck, kissing him back passionately, parting her lips slightly.

_'Why am I doing this? Am I... betraying Naruto-kun?'_

She felt him slip his tongue in, kissing her with passion and lust. Her thoughts were clouded and her body was shaking with need as she kissed him back, melting into the kiss.

Suddenly, the door to Sai's house was opened, and a very excited Lee showed up.

"Sai, you're not gonna believe this! Gaara―" he paused, eyes widened at the scene.

"S-Sakura…san"

* * *

Sasuke was standing at the very top of a long and huge tree where his headquarters resided, looking at the full moon in the sky. He started thinking about his plan, what he had done, why he had done it and the reason behind it…

…he himself didn't know.

_'He was nothing. Now, even after his death, he's still the center of attention…'_ Sasuke thought, his hands slowly balled into fists.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" He mumbled, closing his eyes. A few seconds of silence had passed before he spread his arms to his side and took a deep breath, letting his body fall forward.

Sasuke let the air hit him as he fell downwards with full force. Before he hit the ground, he opened his eyes and flipped, landing gracefully on his feet before kneeling, putting his hand on the ground. He looked up and reached for a small rock nearby.

"I will not let you win…" he said, getting up with the rock in hand. He smirked as his hand suddenly caught fire, causing the rock to literally burn to ashes.

"…Never"

* * *

**No, Naruto being in Sasuke's bed does not necessarily have anything to do with Sasuke's sexual orientation. And yes, fluffiness isn't exactly what you wanted and YES, Lee is my boyfriend (xP) **

**Please review. Thank you for waiting. **


	9. Ch:9

* * *

**Reviews:**

Not replying to any _(actually, I replied to each and every one…as usual xD)_, cuz they only talk about one point…

…Sai x Sakura

Alright, people, here's the thing: _-takes deep breath-_

**THIS STORY IS NARUSAKU!! Meaning ONLY SAKURA x NARUTO! **(Or vice versa) **READ THE PAIRING YOU CHOSE TO READ ABOUT** _–clears throat-_

Gosh, I'm really bothered. I hope that clarified it much!

And Hymir, Thanks a lot for your review, dude! I'll try to keep it as up as it goes. Thanks for the support from the beginning. About the fight, I'll consider it. The thing is that I don't know Sai's fighting style cuz I didn't read the manga yet and he, of course, didn't make a great appearance in the anime. Morrow-kun, thx for your review.

I give you this spoiler already. _Sai_ _x_ _Sakura_ IS NOT HAPPENING! You spoiled the story on your own. Uzukun7, you're right. I'm purposely doing that xD _–evil laugh-_

And Orrin Glenn, I wasn't actually planning on using it again but you told me so, so I was happy to comply xD

Shouri no Hana, yup, bad Sakura xD. More action and less drama once the guys are on the mission xD

* * *

**You hate Sai? He'll be making appearances more than you'll think. He's one of the important characters in this plot. **

**Everyone, please be patient with what's in my brain. **

**You've went too far now, there's no turning back! **

**This chapter doesn't have any necessary information yet it has plenty of NaruSaku flashbacks…just like 'Naruto' fillers. Teehee **

**Now, next chappie! **

* * *

_Previously: _

_Suddenly, the door to Sai's house was opened, and a very excited Lee showed up. _

_"Sai, you're not gonna believe this! Gaara―" he paused, eyes widened at the scene. _

_"S-Sakura…san" _

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 9:**

_'Why am I doing this? NO!' _

She pulled back from the kiss, gasping for breath, looking horridly at him. Sai blinked a couple of times, not able to register what happened.

Something that was next to the door caught her attention, something green.

"S-Sakura…san"

It was Lee who witnessed the kiss. Sakura gasped and shook her head, trying to clarify the situation. But he was out the door.

"Lee-san!" She said, running after him, leaving Sai on the couch, shocked and in a daze of the event that had happened.

* * *

Lee ran as fast as he could away from Sai's house, tears slowly forming in his eyes. _'I will not allow myself to cry like a child. It's not worth it', _he said, holding back his tears, but remembering Sai's words…

_'You like her, as in more than friends?'_

"Traitor, you betrayed Naruto-kun!" He said, running off at full speed, not aware of the pink-haired Kunoichi who was running after him.

"LEE!"

Sakura felt guilty, she noticed the look in his eyes as he watched in horror what she had done. _'Oh my, what was I thinking?!'_ she thought, before noticing that Lee was slowing down.

Lee stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily. He noticed her as she started walking closer to him.

"Lee…" she mumbled, causing him to turn around and face her. "…I don't…"

"You betrayed Naruto-kun, the one who really loved you!"

Sakura flinched, realizing what mistake she had done. She looked at the ground and fiddled with her hands. "I'm―"

"―Don't say that your sorry, the hell you should be!" Lee yelled, causing her to start crying. He felt different, it wasn't like him to yell at others, but he felt that that time was right to tell her what he felt that particular moment.

He took a step closer, the pain visible in his eyes. "…How could you do that, Sakura? …with who did you do it? …with your teammate, Sakura, probably the closest person to Naruto-kun after you!" Lee continued to scold her.

Deep inside, Lee had something for Sakura; he always respected her and admired her, even loved her and supported her in so many things. He also had respect and support to Naruto, knowing that he was probably the first to ever give her attention and lay eyes on her. Once he realized the joy that took over her whenever she was with the blonde, he decided to step aside and watch the one he liked happy with the one _she_ loved. That was Lee's definition of a true friend and he was planning to be one…

"Stop, Lee…"

"How do you expect me to stop? Huh?! We're working so hard to find Naruto to make everyone live in peace and to make _you_ happy!" he yelled, throwing his hand to the side. His voice was echoing in the dark street, making her shiver. "…he loved you, Sakura, and died probably thinking about you! And how do you repay everyone? by frolicking with a bastard like―"

"―STOP IT!" she yelled, sobbing lightly before breaking in tears. Lee was breathing deeply, trying to calm himself down, and almost succeeding in it.

"Gaara told me not to tell you, but I'm gonna do it anyway…" he said, narrowing his eyes at her. Sakura looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"…he managed to get an approval for us to go and find Naruto-kun…" he said, looking at her crying figure. "…that's the good news for us. Bad news for you…" he continued, turning around.

"…You're not going with us, because we thought you loved him―"

"―I love him, Lee!" she yelled, cutting off his sentence. "…I love him still. I made a terrible mistake. I just…" she said, looking at the ground. "…needed someone to hold me, to support me and keep me from falling down" she said, sobbing. Lee narrowed her eyes which were almost filled with tears of regret and pain.

"Weren't we always there for you? Didn't we support you? Hell, The Suna no shinobi, Gaara-kun, the Kazekage, came to Konoha himself to get Naruto-kun back! Isn't that support enough?!" Lee said, as the thoughts started to come to his head, realizing the facts that he just said himself.

"Isn't it enough that he left his whole country just to save a friend?" he mumbled, his voice sounding softer. "It's shameful, that **_he_** was the one to get the approval from Tsunade-sama, OUR Hokage, not someone else from Naruto-kun's village" he said, looking at the ground and shaking his head.

Sakura was in total shock, she felt like a traitor, a person who didn't deserve to live, didn't deserve to be loved, especially by one who never knew love as a child and needed it from her. She realized that then; Naruto needed her more than ever.

_"Help…me"_

His words rung in her ears and ran through her head. She held its sides and screamed. "Naruto!" she said, falling to her knees. "Naruto, forgive me…" she said, crying her heart out. Lee looked at her then moved his vision to the side, feeling ashamed that he made her cry, yet he was still listening to her sobs, realizing that she was probably regretting.

"Sakura-san…" he said; his voice was much softer now. "…I beg of you, stop crying" he continued, moving his eyes hesitantly towards her. Sakura sobbed a bit as she tried to hold back her tears and cries.

She stayed on the ground as the sky started to get cloudy. Lee looked up and noticed the lightening before the roaring sound of the thunder almost shook them. Sakura rested her hands on the ground as droplets of rain started falling…

…she was living the scenario of that day over and over again. The day of the funeral, the day she fell to her knees, regretting not being there for him, regretting the times she treated him badly.

It was like Déjà vu over again.

Sakura kept her eyes to the ground as the rain poured as if the sky was crying with her. She heard footsteps and saw Lee's feet in front of her; she slowly looked up, her tears mixing with the rain. She saw him with a sad expression on his face.

"Do you love Naruto-kun?"

Sakura widened her eyes, looking at Lee whose eyes were as readable as an open book; sad, sorrowful and full of hurt. Sakura grimaced and cried, nodding frantically.

"Yes…" she exclaimed, looking up at him, "Yes, I love him! I made a mistake! My feelings for him have never changed because he was the one for me and he still is…" she screamed, crying uncontrollably while lowering her head back down. Lee nodded and looked up, closing his eyes.

"Sakura-san…" he said, making her look up at him. He lowered his eyes to her and smiled. "…You're gonna catch a cold if you stay here" he said, reaching for her hand. She slowly nodded and put her hand in his as he helped her to get up.

"Lee…" she mumbled, making him look at her. "…I don't know how that happened…" she said, sobbing. Lee looked at the ground, feeling guilty yet betrayed. _'He knew I had a thing for her, he knew that I wouldn't do a thing. He betrayed me and Naruto-kun'_ he thought, narrowing his eyes.

"C'mon, Sakura, I'll walk you home" he said, his voice a bit deeper and losing all kind of enthusiasm. Sakura noticed his change of attitude and realized he was already couple of feet ahead of her. She slowly started walking, following him, guilt taking over her.

* * *

"Are you going to stay here, Lee-san?"

Lee removed the towel off of his head and looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "No, I cannot" he said, drying off his hair and putting the towel aside, walking towards the door.

Sakura, who was now dressed in a pair of maroon pants and a white sleeved shirt, held her hand against her chest. "B-but it's raining heavily out there"

He didn't listen; he was already out the door. Sakura sighed and threw herself on the couch. She started thinking about the whole situation.

_'What's gotten into me?'_ she thought, closing her eyes. A picture of Naruto crossed her mind, making her eyes water lightly.

"Are you mad at me, Naruto-kun?" she mumbled, sighing as the tears started slowly strolling down the sides of her face. She felt it in her veins; betrayal and backstabbing.

_'Help me…'_

His words sounded clear in her head, almost as if it was real. She closed her eyes, listening to his voice. His voice reminded her of that day, a couple of days after their realization about their feelings for each other:

_Flashback:_

_"This is an awesome Mission!!" Lee exclaimed, thrusting his fist in the air. Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Sai and Kakashi sighed, knowing that the rest of the journey back to Konoha won't be a quiet one. _

_They have already camped and night was falling, they all gathered around the fire, due to the weather being a very cold one. Naruto grinned, thrusting his hand in the air as well, replying to Lee's comment. "SOO DA-TTEBAYO!" he exclaimed, looking at Sakura who was smiling. _

_She always thought his attitude was a childish one, but she always thought it was cute. She blushed once she noticed that she was having an eye contact with him while he was smiling sweetly at her. She looked at the ground and blushed harder. _

_"Achoo!" Tenten sneezed, rubbing her forearms. "Oh, snooples, this is cold!" She said, shivering. Lee chuckled, "I told you to bring something warmer. Thank god for this suit Gai-sensei gave to me!" he exclaimed, talking about his green jumpsuit. Everyone chuckled, except for Neji who was silently enjoying his hot cocoa. Naruto laughed cheekily. _

_"You and your suit of youth…" he said, looking at everyone before looking at Sakura who laughed along, sitting opposed to him, before lowering her head. He narrowed his eyes, noticing that she was shivering. _

_"Are you cold, Sakura-chan?" he asked, making her jerk her head up, looking at him. Sakura shook her head and blushed. "No, I'm alright!" she said, trying to stop herself from shivering. _

_Naruto nodded, hugging his knees. The mood was silent as everyone was watching the two who were feeling a bit awkward. Everyone knew they both had a thing for each other, they also suspected that the two were having something in secret, but they decided to let that go for now. _

_He sighed and got up, walking slowly around the circle they made. Sakura kept her eyes at him as he kept his eyes on hers. Everyone gaped when Naruto sat next to her and draped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. _

_"I won't listen to you, you're cold and I'm here to warm you up" he whispered, smiling. She looked at him with a blush across her cheeks and smiled as he leaned lower to give her a kiss on the check. Lee and Gai awed. _

_"This is so youthful!" Lee exclaimed, rivers of tears strolling down his cheeks. Gai nodded and looked at his other students who were glaring at them. _

_"You two should act like this. Neji, be a man and give Tenten some warmth" _

_"WHAT!" both Tenten and Neji exclaimed, blood rushing to their faces. Both looked at each other before turning their heads the other way, blushing madly. Everyone laughed at their behavior, even Sakura and Naruto who were lovingly in each other's arms. He had his right arm around her shoulder while she was holding his hand with both hers, giving each other some body warmth. _

_Sakura looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to look down at her. "Thank you, Naruto-kun" she said, smiling sweetly at him. Naruto blinked a couple of times, grinning before leaning down and kissing her long and soft on the lips. She lovingly accepted the kiss, touching his cheek a bit. He pulled back, making sure his lips stay close to hers; their breaths against each other was giving them some warmth, making Naruto wish they were somewhere else. _

_"No problem, Sakura-chan" he spoke against her lips, grinning widely. Sakura laughed and kissed him again with much passion and for a longer period of time. _

_"Get a room!" Tenten said, still rubbing her forearms. "How I'd like a warm one now" she mumbled, sighing. Neji looked at her and secretly wished he'd be holding her, his pride as always got in the way. _

_"Naruto, Sakura, this…this is very cute!!" Lee said, still crying rivers of joy. "This display of youth is very…youthful!" he said, blinking. "I said the same word twice, right?" he mumbled, receiving a nod from his sensei. _

_Sakura and Naruto broke the kiss; she looked him in the eyes while he kept his on her lips. "Naruto…" _

_"Yes, Sakura-chan?" _

_She looked at him with a smile across her face, "I love you" She mumbled softly. A smile widened across his face as he leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. _

_"I love you too, Sakura-chan, now and forever" _

_End flashback_

She sobbed, remembering his words as if they were said the day before. She wanted that warmth; she wanted to be in his arms rather than being alone in this dark and cold room with no love. For the very first time in her life, she actually felt loneliness running through her veins, living inside of her, being her.

She was the loneliness itself and she realized that neither Sai nor Lee nor would anyone else get her out of the miserable state she was in. Sakura knew **_he_** was the only one capable of taking away all source of sadness and sorrow.

She closed her eyes and listened to the only sound in the quiet room; her heartbeats, her tears strolling down her cheek as she tried to hold them back. Sakura sat up, paused for a minute before getting up and walking towards the stairs leading to her bedroom.

Once she reached them, she paused, remembering a very important memory that probably changed her life:

_Flashback _

_"Nah, there's nothing on" _

_He complained, flipping through the TV channels. "It's either sports or soaps, and I like neither" he said, turning it off and leaning his head backwards. Sakura chuckled, still sitting next to him. "You should exercise a bit more…" she said, patting him on the stomach. "…you're getting chubby because of all the food" _

_"Speaking of food, I'm hungry!" he exclaimed, touching his stomach. Sakura got up and rested her hands on her hips, "Well, I'm gonna prepare something for you. At least I hope it's as good as Ichiraku's meals" she said, taking a couple of steps away from him. _

_She shrieked once she felt her hand being pulled, making her fall on Naruto's lap. "Nah, I have another idea" he said, grinning before giving her a passionate kiss. She replied with a stronger kiss, adjusting herself so that she sat on his lap, facing him. _

_She opened her mouth to allow him to explore her, their tongues colliding furiously, fighting for dominance. Sakura sighed against his mouth and cupped his cheeks, kissing him with more passion. Naruto's hands were going up and down her sides until they rested on her hips, slowly going up, raising her shirt with them. They both were lost in the kiss; both their minds were clouded with need and love as they didn't realize they were going way ahead of themselves. _

_"Naruto…" she mumbled in between the kisses, causing him to pull back. _

_"Sakura-chan" he said, blinking and looking right into her eyes, trying to figure what she was trying to tell him. She cleared her throat, licking her lips. _

_"…my mother won't be back till tomorrow afternoon…" she said, playing with the collar of his shirt. Naruto understood what she was trying to say. _

_"Y-You mean…you and me…" he said, moving his hand in the space between them before pointing up the stairs. She slowly nodded, not breaking the eye contact. His surprised expression turned into a serious and loving one while his eyes told so many unsaid things to her. _

_He still had his hands on her stomach, beneath her shirt. He looked down, narrowed his eyes and started rubbing her stomach with his thumbs slowly, trying to make the right choice. _

_"Sakura-chan, Are you sure?" he asked, looking at her with his blue narrowed eyes. Sakura smiled and nodded, "I'm sure, Naruto-kun" she said, closing the gap between them and claiming his lips with hers, kissing him passionately before getting off of him, their fingers intertwined. Sakura looked at him slyly with a grin on her face before pulling him along as she walked towards and up the stairs, towards her bedroom. _

_End flashback _

Sakura still had her hand on the wooden railing of the stairs, sobbing lightly. Once she remembered the memory, she burst in tears, falling down on her knees.

"Why….Why did I betray Naruto-kun?" She yelled, crying her heart out. If anyone had seen her, they would've surely thought she's gone mad. She regretted that kiss to the bones, realizing that her conscience would punish her, and that incident would probably haunt her till the very end.

Sakura remembered the love he'd given her. He had always made her loved, always made her happy by always being with her. Whenever she tried to take her thoughts off of him, she remembered something that made her feel guilty about what she's done.

Sakura sat down on one of the steps of the stairs and rested her head against a couple of higher steps. She sobbed lightly, wishing it'd be all over very soon.

"Naruto-kun, Sumimasen…" she mumbled, her sobs slowly dying down. "…forgive me, my love" she continued, closing her eyes and crying herself to sleep.

* * *

He was drawing yet another painting, this time, dark and gloomy, with a hint of purple, yellow and orange in the blackness. He was unconsciously mixing the colors in circles on the painting while thinking about the situation.

SLAM!

Sai slowly turned around to see who slammed his house door shut. "I left that opened specifically. It gives me inspiration" he calmly said, looking at the green-suited young man.

"You…" Lee started, stressing on the word. "…Why?"

Sai narrowed his lazy eyes and smirked, "Why I kissed her, you mean? Or why she kissed back?" he said, chuckling. "Face it, Lee. The girl needs someone supportive by her and that moment, that someone was me" he said, turning back to his painting.

Lee balled his hands into fists, trying to calm himself down. "So, you just did it without considering Naruto-kun's feelings? Or, probably, mine?" Lee said, taking a step closer towards the painter who decided to ignore him.

"He's dead, and you're as readable as a book. You want to be with her yet you can't ignore her feelings towards Naruto, so you step aside, being the good boy you are" he said, stroking the brush against the painting as calmly as possible.

Lee took a deep breath, compressing his anger. Sai was slowly painting when he felt that the presence of Lee in front of the closed door was ruining the mood.

"Is there something else? I'm quite busy as you see…" he said, stopping his brush and tilting his head to the side. "…It's not the first time you interrupt something important today" he said with a smirk on his face before going back to painting.

Lee breathed heavily, his anger slowly dying down. "I came to tell you that we have less than 48 hours to get ready…" he said, causing Sai to turn around and give him an empty look. Lee turned around and opened the door. "…We're going on a mission to find Naruto and get him back…" Lee exclaimed, "…get him back to us, and to Sakura-san" he continued, walking out, leaving the door open.

Sai kept his eyes at the door for a few seconds before turning around, continuing with his dark painting with a small smile on his face.

* * *

**39 hours to go…**

"Nani?" she asked, looking at her youngest brother who was in a deep trance. "You know, Gaara, thinking too much hurts the brain" Kankurou exclaimed, pointing at his own head. Gaara, who was sitting at the couch, looked at his brother before turning his attention back at the wall, which seemed much more interesting than his brother's face.

A scene was replayed in his head, a scene where he was trapped in a metallic domical prison which sucked out his Chakura, remembering how Naruto came to his rescue, considering him a special close friend. He remembered when he asked him about his bleeding fingers and he replied with:

_"It happened when I was helping Matsuri out of her wooden coffin…thingy" he replied, grinning cheekily and rubbing the back of his head._

He had later found out from Matsuri herself that it wasn't because of her, and that it had happened when he was trying to remove the prison Gaara was in with his bare hands. He had tried so hard till his fingers bled.

_'What kind of a person would do that?'_ Gaara asked himself, looking at the ground. _'…a real friend, perhaps. I should repay him, I owe him.'_

"Gaara!"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of his brother who was looking at him with a quizzical expression.

"C'mon, bro, let's practice for a bit!" Kankurou said, receiving a silent nod from Gaara before getting up. He looked at his older sister who was spacing out before blinking a couple of times, smiling at him.

"Do you want to come with us, Temari?" Kankurou asked, receiving a head shake from the blonde.

"No, I've got some business to take care of. You boys should try to get in shape, especially you, Kankurou, You're very fat." she said, crossing her arms. Kankurou narrowed her eyes and laughed sarcastically, "Very funny, Temari, your head is too big for your body" he said, shaking his head. Temari rolled her eyes, ignoring her brother's comment.

Kankurou chuckled, leaning his head closer to his bro's ear. "Oh, and by business, she means that pineapple-head she was paired with" he whispered a bit too loudly, chuckling. Temari gritted her teeth.

"Why you little―"

"―PRACTICE! SEE YA!" Kankurou said, running off. Gaara nodded to his sister before walking out the door. Temari rested her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I don't know what to do with that idiot" she said, deciding to take a walk around Konoha.

* * *

"BREAKFAST!"

Neji closed his eyes and tried to get over his friend's overrated optimism. "Very nice!" Tenten, who was seated between the two, mumbled with a smile, while they were all enjoying their breakfast at a bar similar to Ichiraku Ramen's. Neji sighed yet moved his eyes towards his friend.

Lee was grinning foolishly till he noticed the Hyuuga's glare. "What?"

"Why don't you eat instead of telling us how youthful and healthy breakfast is?" Neji said, eating his own breakfast. Lee blinked a couple of times before grinning.

"Neji-kun!"

He looked at his overly-optimistic friend who had a big goofy grin on his face. "What?"

"You're becoming a youthful person!"

"I never said that"

"Ah, the world stopped turning since Hyuuga Neji became a youthful person…" Tenten joked, turning to Lee. "…do you have an extra jump suit that would fit him?" she asked, grinning. Lee put his index finger on his chin and looked up, thinking.

"Uh, I think so. I don't know his size" he said, looking at Neji who was glaring at the two. Tenten gaped.

"During that mission, when I found you in his tent, you said you were taking his _measurements_!"

"I was!" Lee said, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at the Hyuuga whose eyes were as wide as a UFO saucer.

"I'm going to practice" Neji said, losing his appetite. He pushed his plate slightly and got up, walking as fast as humanly possible out of the restaurant.

Once he was out of their range, the two burst in laughter.

"Best prank EVER!" Tenten said, laughing her heart out. Lee nodded, laughing as well. "Especially that the part about me and Neji which wasn't actually a lie" he said, laughing. Tenten paused while he continued with his laughter.

"Uh, what?!"

Lee chuckled then looked at her, "Gotcha!" he said, holding his sides. Tenten laughed and shook her head. "You're one weird guy, Lee" she said, now chuckling. "Let's tell him the truth; he must be scarred for life now!" Tenten said, receiving a nod from her happy-go-lucky friend.

"Yes, let's do" he said, paying for the breakfast before running off, followed by his teammate.

Lee sighed, looking at the ground. He almost forgot the whole incident the previous night while being with those two. His mood became gloomy once the thought came to his head. _'I had to think about that now, didn't I?'_ he asked himself, before stopping.

"Oh, Wait!"

Tenten stopped in her tracks, turning around "What?" she asked, crossing her arms. Lee blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I think I should go and check on Sakura-san" he said, running off. Tenten knotted her eyebrows and sighed.

"He's been spending too much time with her. Well, Neji's waiting!" she mumbled to herself, looking around for the Hyuuga's whereabouts.

* * *

**37 hours to go…**

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, meeting with the ceiling and expecting to have a painful morning from sleeping on the stairs.

She pushed herself up, noticing that the stairs were too soft. She finally came to realization that she was in her own bed.

"I see you finally woke up"

Sakura moved her eyes to see Ino, standing in the doorway with smile, probably more of a smirk, on her face.

"I-Ino…" she said, rubbing her eyes. Ino chuckled and walked closer to her friend's bed, standing a couple of inches away.

"You were on the stairs, did you fall or something?" Ino asked, sitting on her friend's bed. Sakura gave out a chuckle that Ino could tell it wasn't a happy one.

"Nah, I just had a very screwed up night last night"

"Lee told me"

"What?!" Sakura questioned, receiving a sigh from her friend. "It was Lee who found you on the stairs and boy, did he look like me with a bad-hair day!" Ino said, rolling her eyes. Sakura looked at her feet, clutching the covers while Ino changed the subject to talk about the mission they were assigned to, while she was thinking.

_'Still angry, I guess'_ she said, taking a deep breath and sighing it while Ino went on and on.

"…at least I get to spend the whole mission with Kazekage-sama! He's so dreamy!" Ino said, sighing. Sakura shook her head and decided to get up. Ino paused, looking at her friend who slowly made her way out of the bedroom.

"Sakura―"

"―you're assigned for this mission, right?" Sakura interrupted, receiving a nod and an approval sound from her friend.

"Then, make sure you get Naruto-kun back…" she said, walking out of the bedroom door. Ino looked at the ground before looking back up; wondering what was in her friend's mind.

"You're weird…" Ino mumbled, following her friend out the bedroom.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, boring and longest chapter whatsoever!**

**Please review and tell me what you think xD **

**Ja na! **


	10. Ch:10

* * *

**Reviews:**

Gnosismaster: Nope, you got it wrong. She regretted the kiss with Sai. Thank you for your review.

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain: Yup, I had to "clarify" the whole kiss thingy. I couldn't find other than Lee to tell her about that. Thank you for your review and I'll make sure Sai sees hell xD

Krymsom: he-he, thank you for your review. I regret doing that kissing scene but, yeah, I fixed it xD.

Kabata4life: It IS the make-up chapter, cuz I felt you guys weren't satisfied with the last one so consider that chapter MY WORDS of saying my apology for the inconvenient scene with those two. Sai, planning for something? Maybe xP. Thank you for your review.

Shouri no hana: I had to add a bit of youthfulness since Lee got overdramatic. I'm glad you liked that and the NaruSaku scenes. I wanted to redeem what I wrote in the last chapter, LOL! Thank you for your review.

TuffChick: LoL! You're being tuff on me, Chick. Easy, easy, I'm gonna go on with the story and skip the two days and probably make them reach their destination in no time. Thank you for your review.

Darkide: Thanks for telling me Sai's abilities. I'm glad you liked it and thank you for your support. And speaking about non-English people, well, it's a matter of concentration. Whenever you have a thought in mind, turn it into words and viola, you got yourself a story xD

Chosen one: Soon. Thank you for your review.

Weixuan18: yeah, funny. Thank you for your review.

Uzukun7: it will begin in this chappie. Hope you like it and thank you for your review.

Rickp2006: LOL. We all love Lee _–dreamy sigh-_. And Sai is gonna get some ass kicking….after I'm done with him in this. Thank you for your review. Glad you liked it.

Maxslayer10: yeah, I had to get that part where they took their relationship to another level. It'll probably make everything more exciting. Perhaps Naruto would forgive her, or he might never find out soooooo…anyways, yes, I like adding paranormal things in my stories _(telepathy, spiritual communications…etc)_, did that BILLIONS of times. Thank you for your review. Glad you liked it.

Hymir: Thank you for the complement. I'm very pleased that everyone liked it and you thought the fluffiness was good. Thank you very much xD.

SakuNaruLover: Yeah, They will meet again one day. –That sounded like something that would happen in a loooooooooong time- thank you for your review. Glad you liked it.

Konoha Lotus: thx for your support and the review. Glad you liked it

Saka Salrin: LOL, yeah, that's why SAI, because Lee's my BF xP. The last chapter was kinda Sakura-only chapter. That explains why there was no Sasuke or Naruto. Thx for your review Hun, everything will be cleared out in later chapters.

* * *

**Alright peeps, some of you may have read the BAD NEWS I wrote in my profile's UPDATE section. I don't think any of my stories would be done before that time, but I'll try as hard as I could. Thx for your support everyone and ENJOY this chapter cuz the fillers are over and NOW it's time to bring UZUMAKI NARUTO back and kick some SAI ass!! **

**For some reason, I feel that the flashbacks are better than the story itself, right? **

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 10**

"Temari, Kankurou. Are you ready?" he said, looking at his siblings who were preparing their combat tools; puppets' scrolls and a huge fan.

"Yup, lead the way, bro" Kankurou said, putting his usual cat-like hat on his head before carrying the three puppets' scrolls on his back. Temari fixed her red obi and made sure her fan was securely tied to her back.

Gaara nodded, making sure his sand gourd was placed properly on his back. The riddles and Tsunade's order scroll were with him as he walked towards the door and opened it while his siblings followed suit.

* * *

He stood in front of her small house, waiting for her to come out. It was nearing 3:30am and everyone was probably at the gate.

He sighed, pulling on his traveling bag which he carried around his right shoulder, and looked down. His hair fell down and framed his face as he heaved a sigh.

His day was a usual one. He spent it training with his female teammate till they exhausted themselves. By the time they got home, he had decided to take a nap and recharge himself before going on the mission. He woke up at 2am and got himself ready to hit the road. When the clock struck 3 am, he and Hinata knew it was time for them to head out of the Hyuuga compound.

_"I'll pick Tenten up and I'll meet you guys there"_

That's what he told Hinata when Kiba showed up to pick them up. There he was now, waiting outside as the girl inside ran down the stairs, wore her sandals and turn off the lights before the door was opened, revealing her in her usual attire; white-sleeved mandarin shirt with a brown line on its collar and a ¾ brown pants. Her hair stayed in its two-buns manner. Tenten carried her scroll on her back and closed the door, making sure it's securely locked.

"Sorry I took so long" she said, turning around to face him while tapping the tip of her sandals to the ground, making sure they fit properly so she won't have to go through their previous mission's sub-objective: finding one of Tenten's sandals.

Neji shook his head. "It's alright. Let's go" he said, turning around and walking off. Tenten ran to his side as the two started flash-stepping towards the gate.

* * *

Five minutes later, everyone was gathered in front of the gate. Gaara had already given the scroll Tsunade handed over to Kotetsu and Izumo while his siblings, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Kiba and Hinata waited.

"Where the hell is Lee?" Kankurou asked, crossing his arms. Neji shook his head, "I have no idea. I haven't seen him"

Gaara turned to face them, "We'll just wait for him. We're not even leaving before the break of dawn anyway" he said, looking at the east side of the village. "It's not even close" he mumbled, crossing his arms.

Kankurou blinked, "Then…why are we here at this late hour?" he asked, rubbing his temple with his index finger quizzically.

"It's not a late hour, it's an early hour" Tenten exclaimed, sighing and crossing her arms. Kankurou turned to her and mocked her.

"No, pumpkin, it's not an early hour, it's a late hour"

"It's an early hour of a new day! And don't call me pumpkin!"

Everyone looked at the arguing pair before sighing heavily. Neji turned his head towards the calmest one of the siblings, deciding to have a rational conversation instead.

"So, we'll just have to wait for Lee then" Neji said, receiving a nod from Gaara. "Yes" he simply replied. So much for a conversation.

Everyone stood still, waiting for Lee to arrive, except for Kankurou and Tenten who were still arguing about the early/late subject.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, Please…"

Lee stood in front of her office, trying to keep himself as calm and respecting as possible. The previous words were spoken after he'd asked her about the ninjas who were going on the mission:

_"I agreed on who Gaara had chosen, he suggested the whole search party. That means everyone is going except for Sai and Sakura" _

_He narrowed his eyes, 'I can't leave them together. I have to come up with something.'_

The first thing that popped in his head was Sakura's medic-nin skills. He blurted out the words, asking Tsunade to bring Sakura along.

"Yamanaka Ino is a medic-nin. She's going with you, one medic is enough" she said, intertwining her fingers and resting them on her desk. Lee took a deep breath.

"…for a four-man team, she is. But we're talking about ten members of a team…" he said, noticing that Tsunade looked at her hands, thinking. "…Besides, She was really anxious to come with us on the mission and I…when I told her, she was devastated. Tsunade-sama, we both know how important Naruto-kun was to her"

Tsunade nodded, sighing heavily. "You're right, but still. She'll only hold you back"

Once Lee heard those words, he looked at the ground. _'Please, let her come with us. I can't let her be alone in here, especially if Sai was here'_ he thought, having a bad feeling about things. Tsunade chuckled before looking up at him with a serious expression.

"She's still not going" Tsunade exclaimed, causing Lee to furrow his eyebrows. "But, Tsunade-sama―"

"―You're dismissed, Lee"

Lee gulped and didn't budge, making Tsunade narrow her eyes. "I told you that you were dismissed, your colleagues are waiting for you near the village's gate now"

"I won't move till Sakura-san is assigned to this mission" he firmly said, looking at her right in the eye. Tsunade narrowed her eyes and leaned forward in her chair.

"Why are you so persistent?"

"…because her presence on the team is required. She might be emotional, but when it comes to friends, especially Naruto-kun. She has the will of fire!" he exclaimed in his usual polite accent. Tsunade kept her eyes at him before sighing heavily, shaking her head.

Lee narrowed his eyes, knowing that he's getting a no for that. He sighed and nodded slowly. "I get that, Hokage-sama. Thank you for your time" he said, bowing respectfully before walking towards the door.

* * *

Sakura lied in her bed, looking at the clock. _'3:45 am'_ it read, making her sigh. "They probably left by now…" she mumbled, closing her eyes. For some reason, the memory of his departure came haunting her back:

_Flashback (A/N: Extended version from Sakura's narration in the first story) _

_She was home, preparing breakfast with her mother, happily telling her about how her life dramatically changed in the past few months, when a knock on the door startled both them. _

_"Sakura, why don't you see who's at the door?" her mother asked with a smile on her face. Sakura nodded, "Ok, mother" she said, walking out the kitchen and towards the door. Another knock on the door made Sakura narrow her eyes. _

_"I'm coming!" she said, quickly jerking the door before allowing whoever was at it to give another knock. _

_She smiled once she saw Naruto, standing with his fist up at the door. He was startled, eyes widened before grinning foolishly, rubbing the back of his head. _

_"Ohayoo, Sakura-chan" he said, the grin remaining on his face. Sakura gave him a big smile before taking a step to the side. _

_"Ohayoo, Naruto-kun, please, come on in" she said, nodding her head towards the living room. He shook his head. _

_"I can't stay for long" _

_His words made her flinch, her stomach made flips as he had that smile on his face. Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Why?" she asked, taking a step outside and closing the door behind her. _

_Naruto looked at the ground and sighed, "I was assigned on a mission to bring back some sort of a…bell thingy, I don't know…" he said, grinning foolishly. Sakura nodded, looking at the ground. _

_"How long will it take you?" she said, looking up at him, fiddling with her hands. Naruto shook his head. "As long as it takes me to bring that item back" he said, looking at her with a blank expression on his face. Sakura nodded and looked back at the ground. _

_"I'm gonna have to leave in five minutes. Tsunade-sama's orders." he said, smiling. Sakura kept her eyes to the ground. Naruto knew it was difficult for them to be apart since they've never departed for a while._

_"Don't worry, Sakura-chan" he said, smiling sweetly at her. He took a step closer and kissed her forehead. "I'll be going now, just don't exhaust yourself by thinking about me too much" he said, grinning. Sakura chuckled and looked up at him, nodding. _

_"Take care of yourself, Naruto-kun" she said, smiling at him. He nodded and took a couple of steps back, turning around to walk away. _

_Sakura rested her hands on her stomach, having a terrible feeling about that specific mission. She kept looking at his retreating back, tears slowly forming in her eyes. She could never forget all the times they've spent together. He made her happy; he made her feel like someone else whenever she's around him. He made her happy in every single way, and now, he was leaving her behind and go on a mission for a while. _

_She blinked, looking at him as she noticed he was turning around to face her. His expression was blank before it quickly changed into his usual goofy grin. Sakura chuckled, shaking her head. He then changed that grin into a more loving smile, a smile only given to her in certain situations, like being alone in one room as if it was his silent way of telling her how much he cared, how much he loved her and would probably miss her. _

_He gave her a wider smile before looking at the ground, slowly turning around. She moved her hand to her heart, trying to hold back the tears, but her emotions took the best of her. _

_"Naruto-kun!" _

_Naruto stopped and looked back at her. He was surprised to see her running towards him before she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a loving hug, never wanting to let him go. Naruto hugged her back, wrapping his arms securely around her waist and leaning his head on her shoulder, holding back the tears himself. _

_He knew deep inside that he was going to miss her the most. Ever since Sasuke died, they've never left each other's side and now, one mission would tear them apart, even if it was for a little while. _

_He hugged her tightly for a couple of seconds before pulling back, looking in her eyes and smiling again, moving her hair away from her face. _

_"I'll try to get back as soon as possible, Sakura-chan" he said, that smile was glued on his face. Sakura's tears were already strolling down her cheeks as she nodded. Naruto smiled sadly, wiping the tears off of her left cheek before kissing the ones on her right cheek off, keeping his lips against her cheek as he kissed her one last time. _

_She smiled and cupped his cheeks, tiptoeing and kissing him passionately, putting all the love she has for him in it. He kissed her back, holding her closer and living the moment that he probably won't live it for a long time. _

_He broke the kiss due to the need to breathe and to the fact that he had to leave as soon as possible. He chuckled and took a step backwards, his eyes looking right through hers. _

_"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'll come back home before you know it, no matter what. I promise you, because…" he said, taking another step backwards before giving her a thumb up with a grin on his face. "…Kore ga ore no NINDOU da-ttebayo!" he said, telling her: 'This is my way of a Ninja'. _

_She smiled sadly, nodding and giving him a thumb up. "I know you will, Naruto-kun" she said, lowering her hand to her side, watching him do the same. He smiled one last time before turning around, keeping his eyes on hers before turning his head and walking off. She stayed for a couple of minutes in her place, watching him walk proudly towards his mission. _

_For some reason, the sun was shining bright while the sky was a bit cloudy. Sakura noticed for a minute that Naruto looked as if he was walking towards a gate of light. _

_She was proud of his self confidence, knowing that Naruto always kept his promises; he always did ever since he was a child, he never willingly broke them, and she knew he never will... _

_"…Be careful, Naruto-kun" _

_End flashback_

Her tears continued to stroll down the sides of her face, traveling all the way to the sides of her neck. She was sobbing uncontrollably, wishing she was able to do something, wishing she was able to go with everyone else. _'I would only be in the way, they won't let me go. Tsunade-sama didn't even let me…'_ she thought, closing her eyes, letting herself slowly drift to sleep.

DING DONG

Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up, looking at her bedroom door. She quickly got up and walked out of her bedroom, down the stairs and towards the door. A knock was heard in addition to the ringing bell.

Her shivering hand reached for the doorknob, wondering who was behind the door. She cracked it open, peeping through.

"L-Lee-san…" she mumbled, noticing that her friend was at the door, expressionless. Sakura opened the door to its widest, coming face to face with her friend.

"Hurry up, everyone's at the gate" he only said, narrowing his eyes at him. Sakura blinked a couple of times, shaking her head.

"I-I don't get it" she said, noticing a smile on his face. He looked at the ground, still having that smile on his face.

"Naruto-kun's waiting for us to get him back. You're on the team, Sakura-san"

Sakura widened her eyes as they slowly filled up with tears. She raised her hand to cover her mouth as the tears made their way down her cheeks.

"D-Didn't you tell me I…I wasn't on the team? Didn't Tsunade-sama prevent me from going?" She asked, her voice being a bit hoarse. Lee smiled, nodding.

"Yes, she did, but I managed to convince her…" he said, looking at the ground before moving his eyes back at her. "…C'mon, hurry up, Gaara agreed to meet us all before sunrise. Go get dressed, quickly" he said, motioning with his hand towards the inside of the house. Sakura was startled before nodding frantically, running towards and up the stairs.

Her tears were still strolling down her cheeks as she was smiling, knowing that she would be able to participate in finding him.

_'Wait, Naruto-kun, just wait and hang in there'_

In a matter of seconds, she was dressed in her usual attire. She grabbed her dark ash-colored gloves from the desk and walked out, before pausing.

She turned around and looked at an item, securely hung over her bed. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that it's been a while since she last touched it.

She walked back to her bed and grabbed it, looking at the torn hitai-ite which was owned by Naruto. She tightened her grip on it before tying it tightly on the strap of her upper light-pink skirt, making sure her own was tied securely on her head.

"Alright" she mumbled, taking a deep breath before exhaling it, running out of her bedroom.

* * *

Kankurou was tapping his foot to the ground impatiently while crossing his arms. "He's taking way too long. He'll hold us back"

"Relax; Gaara said we're not leaving before sunrise anyways" Ino said, receiving a glare from him. She glared back, crossing her arms "Don't give me that, punk"

"What did you say, Blondie?!"

"Not another argument. It really defies the purpose of youthfulness"

Everyone knew that the certain _'youth'_ speech only belonged to the one and only youth-crazed teenager. They turned to see Lee, standing a couple of feet behind him with none other than the pink-haired Kunoichi. Ino blinked, surprised.

"Sakura!" she exclaimed, walking towards her friend. "I thought you weren't going"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, "I would never miss this mission, not in a million years" she said, smiling. Ino noticed the extra hitai-ite Sakura had and smiled sadly. _'She's still holding on to that?'_ she thought as she watched her, walking towards the others. Lee kept his eyes on her, remembering how she ended up coming along:

_Flashback:_

_Lee narrowed his eyes, knowing that he's getting a no for that. He sighed and nodded slowly. "I get that, Hokage-sama. Thank you for your time" he said, bowing respectfully before walking towards the door. _

_"Wait, Lee!" _

_He abruptly stopped, turning around. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" he stood, fully facing her now. She sighed, leaning forward on her desk. _

_"Why do you want her to go with you guys so bad?" she said, narrowing her eyes. Lee looked at the ground and smiled. _

_"Besides than having her as a skillful medic-nin with super 'inhuman' power, which she got from you…" he said, but pausing when he noticed the glare she gave him. Lee cleared his throat and continued, _

_"…I think she would really want to be there for Naruto-kun…" he said, looking at the ground, "…I also feel that, if we leave her alone, she'll…" he said, looking at the ground. "…she'll do something to herself and we'll all end up regretting it" _

_Tsunade understood what he meant by that. She fiddled with her hands before sternly looking up at him. "We have Sai here, he could protect her" _

_Lee flinched at the sound of his name, remembering what he'd done to him and Naruto-kun. _

_"Sai usually gets lots of missions since he's an ANBU member, Tsunade-sama, he'll be too busy to watch over her" he said, taking a deep breath, "I want to go on the mission, help Gaara and the others to find Naruto-kun, yet I want to stay for Sakura-san…" he said, gulping and looking at the ground. _

_Tsunade smiled, "You're worried about her, aren't you?" she said, receiving a nod from the young man. Tsunade nodded and leaned back in her chair. _

_"I trained Sakura for years, for her to be able to become who she is. Naruto's death broke her, and his body's disappearance weakened her even more. If you're going to take her with you on this mission, you'll be responsible for everything that happens to her during it, got it?" _

_Lee paused for a minute, realizing that Tsunade just gave him the responsibility in addition to the approval to let Sakura come along. He grinned, bowing respectfully. _

_"Understood, Tsunade-sama" He said, smiling. She smiled and nodded. "Good, you're dismissed" _

_Lee nodded and headed out the door as fast as possible, wanting to tell the good news to Sakura. _

_End flashback _

_'Naruto's lucky to have someone like her to be there for him…'_ Lee thought, looking at her as she started having a conversation with Temari. Lee narrowed his eyes, noticing that the red-haired was nowhere to be found.

"How did you manage to bring her along?"

Lee was startled by a shallow, whisper-like yet deep voice which was only owned by Sabaku no Gaara, causing him to turn his head to the side where Gaara stood. "G-Gaara-kun…" he started, before looking back at Sakura. Gaara looked at her as well.

"Does Tsunade-sama know she's coming with us? Or you just sneaked her into the group?" he asked, receiving a nod from Lee. "I managed to convince her to assign another medic-nin on the team" He said, looking at Gaara with a smile on his face.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "Another? We already have a medic-nin?" he asked, receiving a nod from Lee who turned his attention to Ino who was having an argument with Kankurou.

"Man…" Shikamaru interrupted the conversation, making both Gaara and Lee look at him. "…Don't those two ever shut up? I mean, yeah, Ino is the loud mouth in here but I never knew your brother could be louder" he exclaimed, rubbing his inner ear.

Lee chuckled, "Ino-san is a very nice girl"

"Yeah, you've never tried to be with her before. Geez, she's troublesome, just like every other woman on this planet." Shikamaru said, chuckling sarcastically. Gaara shook his head, realizing that Shikamaru was right. Being for five hours with Ino showed him she was no ordinary girl because she really was a loud mouth.

"So, when are we heading out?" Lee asked, turning their attention to Gaara who looked at the sky.

"In a matter of seconds" he said, noticing that the sun was already rising,

"Everyone…" He said, turning everyone's attention towards him. Gaara walked towards the gate and looked at the long road, narrowing his eyes. Naruto's grinning face could almost be seen along the road, making him ball his hands into fists.

_'Naruto, we'll find you…'_

Gaara could feel everyone gathered behind him, ready to head out as the sun was shining over Konoha.

Sakura had her hand against her chest, looking sadly at the sun, _'Naruto-kun, wait for us' _she thought, smiling sadly. She took a deep breath and exhaled it, preparing herself for the departure.

Shikamaru walked and stood next to Gaara, looking at him. "You ready?" he mumbled, receiving a nod from the red-haired.

"…Definitely! Let's go find him" he said, walking out the gate. Everyone looked at each other and nodded before following him; all of them were having high hopes in finding him, especially Sakura who had a sad smile on her face.

_'We'll finally be together, Naruto-kun…' _

* * *

"They're already out?"

"…and they're only purpose is to take Naruto back."

Sasuke smirked, shaking his head while speaking on the phone. "They're early risers, aren't they?"

The person on the other side chuckled, "They are, but I'm afraid I have bad news…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, leaning backwards in his chair while keeping his eyes on Naruto's unconscious body in his bed. "If the plan is failing, consider yourself dead―"

"―I couldn't keep Sakura out of it. Somehow, they managed to bring her along"

Sasuke groaned, "I knew you're unreliable" he said, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. "But it's alright; I could use her to my advantage. If they managed to get here"

"_If_? I thought you said you didn't put any obstacles on their way there. In fact, you kinda made things easier for them with the riddles and shit" the other person said, a hint of confusion was in his voice. Sasuke chuckled, looking at Naruto.

"Well, the obstacles don't lie on their way. They are where you don't expect" he said, smirking. The person on the other side laughed.

"I see you've become quite the mysterious person, Sasuke-kun" the anonymous person chuckled, receiving a snort of Sasuke.

"…and how many times I've told you not to call me Sasuke-kun" he said, getting up and walking towards Naruto.

"Whatever…" the person replied, "…I must leave now; Leader is calling everyone for a meeting"

"Sure" Sasuke said, hanging up and looking at Naruto's body. "They'll be here soon…" he said, touching Naruto's hair, sliding his index finger down his cheek -touching the whisker-like markings caused by his bijuu's sealing- and smirking.

"…Very soon"

* * *

**Yeah, Sasuke is NOT gay. LOL. Ok, don't kill me for not starting the adventure, I just had to add a couple of things. **

**I admit this isn't my best chapter, probably lots of mistakes cuz the last time I re-read it was like, five days ago? But I didn't want to update so soon. **

**I hope you guys liked it. Please review.**


	11. Ch:11

**Reviews:**

Kabata4life: LoL, perhaps. Thx for your review, glad you liked it so far.

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain: Accidentally kill Sai? They will SURELY accidentally kill him LOL. Thx for your review.

Hymir: Once again, you leave me with a great review. I'll try my best to update before the time. 'S.O.B.' Sai is gonna have more appearances in the next couple of chapters, hopefully. Thanks for your support ALL the way.

Krymsom: Thank you so much. He is very creepy, he's almost creeping ME out. I'll try to add a bit of _SakuNaru_ fluff to each chapter cuz I'm nearly out of thoughts, but more thoughts should be on the way. Thx for your review.

Darkide: Thank you for your support. Glad you liked it and I'll be kicking some Sai butt soon. Anyways, thank you for your review.

KunoichiRena: Thank you. You'll find that most of my stories are long for nothing. I just get in the moment and keeping typing all the way, LOL. Thank you for your review and I'm so glad you found the story too

Weixuan18: Wait and See, thank you for your review.

Shouri no hana: Well, you'll figure that out soon. Thank you for your review.

Maxslayer10: LoL, you're probably right. Wait and see. Thank you for your review and I'll try to do what you told me.

Gnosismaster: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

Meca vegeta: Thank you. Thanks for your review.

Miyaki Kurata: I speak a bit of Japanese, self-learning. Thank you for your comment xD

Uzukun7: Yeah, we all came to THAT conclusion. Thanks for your review and glad you liked the story so far.

Konoha Lotus: I have a great part that I have to add while they're on their trip, but I think I'm gonna skip the whole traveling thing cuz it's taking too long xD thx for your support.

Sharigan94: Well, that's alright. I knew it wasn't my best _–hides tears, sniff sniff-_ anyways, thanks for your review.

Saka Salrin: LoL. As random as always, Saka! I'll try to update ASAP! Thx for your review.

Rickp2006: Am I that predictable? xP I'm starting to think I should mess up the order of people's appearances. LoL! Thx so much for your review.

Sakuralovewinsalways: Thank you very much, I'm flattered. _–Blush-_. But I'm still evil _–evil laugh- _thx for your review

Omega1a: Thank you very much. I actually gave a hint in the first couple of chapters when Sasuke said, "Orochimaru is history". Also, Believe it or not, I've never read the manga cuz I'm currently watching the Anime. So I don't know Sai, or Yamato, I just read about them. I haven't cleared that LEADER was someone from ROOT. So the mystery still remains. Thank you for your review and I'm so glad you liked it. I'll try my best to write more while I'm away.

* * *

**My God! Your reviews, guys and girls, made my days brighter. Thank you for helping me to achieve my goal to reach to 100 reviews. I wouldn't be here without your support.**

**You know what I like about my stories? THEY ARE SO IFFING PREDICTABLE! Is it because it sucks? Or is it because it's a bit like the real series? Well, let me know **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**The Truth behind the Lies, Chapter 11**

They've been almost through the day; traveling towards Hoshigakure. Gaara, Shikamaru and Neji were in the lead while the former was holding the riddles in his hands, studying them further. The girls were in the back while Kankurou and Kiba were ahead of them. Lee, being Lee, was confidently walking on their side, glancing at the girls every once in a while.

"The girls are gonna hold us back" Kankurou mumbled, noticing that Lee was glancing at them, causing him to blink at the puppet master. "What do you mean?"

Kankurou rolled his eyes, "I mean, we got too many girls on the team. You also brought Sakura which will cause more trouble" he said, speeding up his pace. Lee looked at the ground, registering Kankurou's words.

Ino, who was in the lead of the girl's group, sighed. "I think we're lost. We should never let Shikamaru lead, he's too lazy to figure out directions" she said, crossing her arms while walking. Temari chuckled.

"Lazy isn't leading. Gaara is, he's got the whole idea in his head" she said, looking confidently at her younger brother who was leading them, narrowing her eyes. _'He's changed, and determined to find him. No wonder. That shrimp meant so much to him'_ she thought, looking at the back of her brother, almost sensing the intensity of his will.

"Not Gaara or Lazy-butt, It's Neji who's gonna find Naruto" Tenten exclaimed, pointing at her teammate. Ino rolled her eyes.

"We will find Naruto, all of us"

The girls paused and looked behind them at Sakura who was looking at the ground. She looked up at them and smiled, "We'll all cooperate to find him" she said, smiling sweetly. Ino blinked a couple of times, keeping her eyes at Sakura.

_'How can she be so calm when her -supposedly dead- best friend is in danger?'_ Ino thought, turning her head back to the front, looking at the lazy shinobi who's also her best friend. _'If I ever lost Shikamaru, I don't know what I would do'_

The mood was silent as only their footsteps were heard. They kept on silently walking towards their destination, not realizing how many hours passed…except for one.

"Gaara…"

Gaara turned his head to the side, giving Kankurou a sign that he was listening to him. "We need to rest. We've been walking for thirteen hours straight!" he exclaimed, sighing heavily.

Gaara turned his head back to the front, ignoring his brother's comment. Kankurou frustratingly groaned and rested his hands behind his back. Kiba looked behind him, noticing that one of the girls was tired.

He looked to the side where Akamaru was walking beside him and gave him a signal. Akamaru understood and retreated, walking next to Hinata who was almost panting.

Hinata noticed Akamaru and furrowed her eyebrows. In one swift move, she was on top of him as he walked. "A-Akamaru-kun!" she exclaimed in her high pitched voice, causing Neji to check on his cousin.

Gaara kept his eyes glued to the papers, "Anything wrong back there?" he simply asked, receiving a head shake from Neji. "No, nothing important" he said, continuing on his way. Shikamaru sighed.

"This is nothing like I expected…" he said, resting his hands behind his back, "…mendokuse na!" he exclaimed, sighing heavily.

Sakura, being the last on the group, sighed and hugged herself. The morning was a bit warm, despite it being winter. Now, as sunset drew nearer, the cold night was approaching them.

She kept her eyes at her feet, watching them as they sluggishly moved on their own, following the others. She was in deep thoughts.

_'Are we sure about his location? Are we going to find him? Is he even alive?'_ she doubted, keeping her eyes at the ground.

Sakura hugged herself tighter as the cold increased. She was so anxious to go on the mission that she forgot to wear her winter attire; instead, she wore her sleeveless one.

"Baka Sakura…" she mumbled, hugging herself tighter. She closed her eyes, sighed and looked up, only to find no one in sight. Fog began to form, engulfing her and preventing her from seeing any further.

The girls continued on walking, Ino and Temari were into a fight whether Gaara was better than Shikamaru or not. Of course, none of the others cared about the conversation. Hinata, still on top of Akamaru, decided to hop down. Kiba looked back at her, but she shook her head, indicating that she had enough rest of the journey.

"Um, guys…"

Everyone stopped, turning around to look at Tenten who was looking behind. Everyone narrowed their eyes once they noticed Sakura, standing still a couple of feet behind the group, hand on her chest. Lee took a couple of steps towards the girls, keeping his eyes at Sakura.

"Sakura-san…" he started, "…doushite?" he asked, getting no reply from the pink haired. As if she was in her own world…

…this was, in fact, quite true.

Sakura stood in her place as the fog continued to increase. She lost any sense of her surroundings, her friends disappeared. Only she remained in the unbearable cold as she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Sakura…chan…"

She gasped, shaking her head. "Not again…" she mumbled, turning around, searching for the owner of the voice.

"I'm here…Sakura…chan"

She continued to look around for any sign, till she suddenly paused. She could sense him, she could feel him, and she could almost taste his pleading in the cold…

He was there with her, in the same place. She turned around, eyes on the ground. She slowly looked up, noticing a figure in the distance. Sakura narrowed her eyes, almost making out the figure as it walked closer.

"It's under you nose, Sakura-chan…"

She narrowed her eyes as hints of orange and black appeared in her vision, that wild blonde hair and those marks, they only belonged to him.

"N-Naruto…" she mumbled, taking a step closer. He continued on his way, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. She stopped as he got very close. Sakura shivered, her lips quivering. She could almost feel her lungs freeze as he got a couple of feet away from her. She decided to take a step backwards, but her legs failed her.

She was frozen…

Naruto kept on walking towards her till their faces were inches apart. She could feel him, feel the heat of his body through the cold, as if he was really with her. He kept his eyes down, on a certain object.

Sakura searched his dark eyes for an answer, but he never looked at her, instead, his left hand reached for his own hitai-ite, which was with her, while his right rested on her waist. She narrowed her eyes, looking down.

"Kiba…" he said, looking up at her. She moved her vision from the hitai-ite towards Naruto's eyes as he looked right back at hers.

Lee was standing in front of Sakura, calling her name. She wasn't responding at all, Ino and the others freaked out a bit.

"What's going on? Why isn't she answering back?!" Kankurou yelled, looking at Sakura who was looking ahead of her, before moving her head down, looking at her waist. Lee noticed the hitai-ite on her waist.

"Is it…that?" he mumbled, looking at her as she looked up again, a single tear strolled down her cheek.

She cried, raising her hands to touch his face, but he took a step backwards, releasing her waist. "Help me, Sakura-chan" he mumbled, blinking slowly. Sakura took a step towards him, but froze. She felt a lump in her throat and her limbs freeze in their place.

"Naruto-kun…" she mumbled, falling to her knees. Lee managed to hold her, breaking her fall. Everyone was startled, except for the three leaders.

Neji looked at Gaara who had no expression on his face, also Shikamaru. He looked back at Lee who was comforting Sakura before moving his vision towards them.

"I think we should camp here for tonight, the girl's freezing" Lee exclaimed, looking at Neji right in the eye.

"You're right, It's been thirteen hours after all" Gaara mumbled, crossing his arms. Kankurou's eyes widened, causing him to turn and face his brother.

"Oi, Gaara, Didn't I tell you that a couple of minutes ago?!" He asked, raising his fist in defense. Gaara looked at him and blinked.

"You were the only one complaining, so it doesn't count" he said, walking towards a nearby tree and sitting down. Everyone decided to call it a day while Lee was still with Sakura.

"Sakura-san…" he mumbled, holding her close. "…I'm sorry" he said, causing her to shake her head. "Lee…" she said, reaching for Naruto's hitai-ite. Lee narrowed his eyes before looking at her.

"…give it to Kiba, let him find use this to find Naruto!" she said, smiling as the tears strolled down her cheeks.

"KIBA!" Lee yelled, running at full speed towards him with Naruto's hitai-ite. Kiba was startled when he found that Lee wasn't able to slow his speed down, causing both to crash and fall on the ground.

"Use…this…" he said, showing Kiba Naruto's hitai-ite, which was looked at quizzically. "How will I use a torn hitai-ite?" Kiba said; an eyebrow quirking.

Lee sighed, "Use your sense of smell. Why haven't we thought about it?" he said, handing the hitai-ite to Kiba. "Well, I-I guess we could give it a try" he said just as soon as his partner appeared by his side. Kiba raised the hitai-ite to Akamaru's nose. Everyone waited patiently as the nin-dog took its time to register the smell.

Akamaru barked a couple of times, earning a look of amusement from his friend before getting up. "Kiba, what is it?" Lee asked, looking up at him.

"Akamaru is sensing something nearby. I doubt that the _something_ is Naruto so you guys stay here and I'll go check it out" he said, raising his hand as a wave and walked off.

"It could wait"

Kiba stopped dead in his tracks, causing him to turn around. "Say what?" he said, looking at Gaara who had his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Save your energy. You will need it later o―"

"―You don't tell me what to do!" Kiba interrupted, causing everyone to halt. Gaara slowly opened his eyes and looked at Kiba. Kankurou, seeing his brother's calm expression, was scared.

Temari held her breath, _'Shit, he's pissed'_ she thought, keeping her eyes at her little brother who slowly rested his left hand on the ground, pushing himself up. Kiba narrowed his eyes, _'What? Does he want a fight at the moment?'_ he thought, letting himself be on full alert as Sabaku no Gaara stood straight, arms crossed.

"Do as you please"

Kiba's eyes narrowed as he blankly looked at Gaara who started walking away. Everyone's eyes stayed on the red-haired. Kiba gritted his teeth as he felt that his reply earlier wasn't a very respectful one.

"No one assigned you as our leader anyway!" he yelled, receiving no response from Gaara as he decided to walk into the forest.

"Kiba-kun…" Hinata started, getting up. "…I'll go with you" she said, nodding. Kiba sighed and nodded, "Sure, let's go" he said, as the two started walking of to where Akamaru led them.

A couple of minutes passed since Kiba, Hinata and Gaara went off. Neji, Lee and Shikamaru decided it would be best if they started the fire before the sunset. So, they decided to go look for some wood, of course, going through hell and back to convince Shikamaru it wasn't THAT troublesome. They ended up leaving the rest alone in the middle of the forest.

Kankurou and Tenten were using a couple of rocks to make a big circle which would surround the fire. Ino got up, dusting off her clothes. Everyone looked at her quizzically. "What?!" she asked, crossing her arms. Kankurou raised his hand, like a student in his classroom. "Um…I have something to say!"

"What?!"

"Where the heck are you going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Ino sighed, "I'm going to use the _'facilities'_" she said, doing quotation marks in the air. Kankurou nodded, not believing her. Ino ignored and walked off, before turning around and pointing a finger at him.

"Just so you know, purple is so last year. And it's definitely not your color because you look like a clown thrown into a pile of tar" she said, turning around, her hair tossing to the side. Kankurou gritted his teeth and balled his fists. Temari smirked

"Well, face the music, no one likes you" she said, giggling along with Tenten. Kankurou narrowed his eyes at his older sister before sighing, looking at Sakura who was spacing out while being covered with Lee's blanket.

"I wonder if she's alright…" he mumbled, getting up and walking towards her. Sakura was looking at her feet, still thinking about that vision she had seen.

_'Why would Naruto appear at a time like this? I thought I was only seeing him in my dreams. Was I daydreaming? Or was I just thinking too much about him…'_ she thought, sighing heavily.

"Oi, are you deaf?" she heard someone say, causing her to jerk her head to the side. It was Kankurou, sitting by her side. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes. What were you thinking of?" he asked, receiving a blank look from Sakura.

Kankurou found himself on the ground with a bruise on his head. "OUCH!" he said, getting up and rubbing his head. "Why did you do that!?" he asked, noticing that Tenten was preparing another rock to throw at him.

"Because you're an insensitive little bastard. Go bother someone else... like Gaara" Temari defended, giving her brother a sly smirk. He narrowed his eyes, "You know he's gonna kill me if I did that"

"That's the point"

Sakura chuckled at Tenten's remark, causing all eyes to turn to her. "I'm sorry; I just think it's funny"

Kankurou narrowed his eyes and mocked her. The sound of twigs break caused them to turn their heads to the source of the sound. The guys came back with the woods needed for the fire. By that, it means that Neji was carrying the majority of the woods and twigs, Lee exaggerated it and carried half a log around while Shikamaru complained about how troublesome it would be to do such a thing, while carrying a small branch.

"You guys are back" Kankurou exclaimed as he got up and started helping Neji with placing the woods on the ground.

"Yup, we'll call it off for tonight" Neji said, looking at everyone. "Did Hinata and Kiba get back with any news yet?" he asked, noticing that the said two were missing. Temari shook her head. "No, not yet"

Neji nodded and sat on the ground. Lee volunteered to start the fire while Temari used her mini-fan to keep it lit. Everyone gathered around the fire and benefited from the heat.

"What about Ino and Gaara? Anyone's seen those two?" Shikamaru exclaimed, trying to keep his hands as close as possible to the fire. Tenten shook her head, "Gaara hadn't come back yet and Ino said she wanted to use the facilities"

Kankurou chuckled, "Man, I think those two are doing something that we don't know. It's impossible how they end up together coincidentically" he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's called _coincidently_, moron" Temari corrected, mumbling something under her breath.

"Yeah, whatever. Bottom line is that they're together at that point―"

It was also unbelievable how Kankurou's own words could give him a bruise in the head. "OW, NOT AGAIN, YOU WEAPON B-" he was about to say the wrong word when he noticed the glare from both her and the _'weird-eyes dude'_ who happened to be standing next to her.

"-beautiful weapon mistress" he corrected, giving them a sardonic smile. Neji ignored him and sat down next to Tenten who glared at Kankurou till he probably wished for his own demise.

* * *

He sat on one of the rocks accumulated in the forest, hugging his knees. It's been a while since his departure from the group, he just wanted to be alone to, probably, think of a plan to help with getting Naruto back.

"Gaara? Is that you?"

He closed his eyes and gave out a small sigh before opening them back. Whoever that person was, they sure were fairly dumb. Even without seeing his face, they should know that no other person in the world had his fiery red hair and carried a gourd on their back.

He tilted his head to the side, already knowing who that person was. Her light footsteps made their way closer to him, causing him to tilt his head back to the front.

"It's getting dark soon and when it does, it gets colder. We should head back to camp, I believe the guys already started the fire" Ino said, standing next to his sitting figure. He nodded and stayed put, causing Ino to cross her arms.

"Are you planning on getting up or―"

"―yeah, any minute now." he said back, as calmly as he always did. Ino rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Fine, whatever! It's not like I care if you freeze here or anything!" she said, turning around and walking off, huffing. Gaara smirked and shook his head.

"Bushy-brows and pineapple-head were right…" he said, getting up and crossing his arms, looking at her retrieving back. "…She's nice, but she IS annoying"

* * *

"Oh! What a glorious niiiiight!"

"Shut up, Lee!"

"What a Beautiful night!"

"Lee, Seriously!"

"Oh! What a YOUTHFUL NIIIIIGHT!" Lee continued to sing passionately with his eyes closed as the others clamped their hands over their ears, in Kankurou's situation, almost wanting to hide in _Kuroari_, one of his puppets.

"Lee, yo, you're too loud!" Tenten said, tears almost forming in her eyes while Lee's voice was overly hyper and off key. He opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Having a fire around with no marshmallows or noodles or whatever, does not count as camping, so, singing is another option!" he said, taking a deep breath to continue his singing.

"We're not camping; we're on a mission, Lee!!" Temari said, rubbing her inner ear. Lee opened one eye to look at her before…

"OH! WHAT A GREEEN NIIIII―"

_SMACK!_

Everyone looked at Lee who was face down in the ground with a huge bruise on his head; they all looked behind him to see Ino, holding a broken branch from a nearby tree.

"Ino, that'll do" ,they looked at the person behind the blonde. "Gaara, you're back" Temari said, receiving a nod from him. Ino smirked and sat down next to Lee who was rubbing his head.

"Why did you do that for?"

"No one needs your youthful singing since it does nothing but shortening our lives" she said, heaving a sigh. Everyone remained silent while the sound of cockroaches was the only thing heard, added to the sound of the wood being eaten by the flames.

"What shall we do now?" Kankurou asked, adding more wood to the flames, trying to keep the area as warm as it could be.

"We could always sing another―"

"―NO!" All of the guys and girls said in unison. Shikamaru sighed and laid back. "We're just gonna have to wait for Hinata and Kiba to get back" he said, "I wonder where they ended up"

Neji narrowed his eyes. _'True, I wonder where they are. If that kid tries something on her, I'll―'_

"Neji…" he heard, causing him to turn his head to the side where Tenten sat with a smile on her face, "...Don't worry about her. Kiba's with her and I'm sure he's not going to let anything hurt her" she continued, smiling sweetly at him. He nodded and moved his eyes back to the fire.

_'I'm still not sure…'_ he said, making sure no one was to see him when he activated his _Kekkei Genkai_

He kept his eyes on the fire while using his ability to see around the whole 360 degrees angles. He narrowed them once he spotted his cousin and her teammate.

* * *

"Kiba-kun…" she mumbled, looking around. "…Did Akamaru-kun find anything yet?" she asked, looking at her teammates back as he searched the area with Akamaru.

Kiba shook his head, "No, not― wait, I think he found something!" he said, noticing that Akamaru had barked once before heading in a certain direction. Kiba followed him, stepping over the fallen branches and maneuvering through the bushes till he found his companion.

"Oi, Akamaru, did you find anything?!" Kiba said, walking to his companion who was sniffling on something.

The dog master stood next to his nin-dog, ruffling his fur as he looked at the object ahead of him.

"Kiba-kun, what is it?" Hinata said, looking at Kiba who knotted his eyebrows, staring at what Akamaru had found.

"W-What is that?!" The lavender-eyed girl said, moving her vision towards the fabric object that was laid on the ground. Hinata's eyes widened, recognizing the orange garment.

"T-That's N-Naruto-kun's jacket!" she said, walking towards it. Kiba nodded and followed his teammate as she picked it up. "Ah, it is" he said, examining it while it was in Hinata's hands.

"But who left it here? Could it be Naruto-kun?" She said, looking at her teammate who nodded, "I doubt but, but luck's on our side. Maybe we're really on the right track here…" he said, touching the jacket, "…maybe it was taken off on purpose. Naruto probably wanted it to be found" he said, looking at Hinata who had a glimmer in her eyes.

"Y-You're right!" she exclaimed, smiling sincerely. Kiba nodded, "Let's go back and tell the others. I'm sure they would wanna hear this!" he said, hopping on Akamaru and extending a hand to Hinata. "C'mon, it's faster this way"

Hinata looked at his hand and nodded, reaching for it. He pulled her up and helped her sit in front of him, both her legs on one side.

"Hold on tight, k?" Kiba said, putting his arms securely around her. She blushed and nodded, "Umm" she murmured, holding onto Naruto's jacket while leaning back into Kiba's chest. The dog master gulped and was startled, but brushed it off and patted on Akamaru's neck.

"Akamaru, Ike!" He yelled, causing Akamaru to run at full speed towards their camping site. Hinata's eyes were widened as the speed was over the top.

"I trained him in those two years, but you never tried him, eh?" he said as the wind hit both of them. Hinata shook her head and decided to close her eyes for the rest of the journey back to the camp.

* * *

Lee yawned and stretched, looking around the silent group, "I'm getting sleepy" he said, noticing that every one of them was probably lost in their own thoughts.

"Then sleep, we'll all do sooner or later" Neji said, keeping his eyes on the fire. Ino nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's getting late and we're getting too lazy to have a conversation, except for Shikamaru, he's always lazy"

"Did you say something, big mouth?"

"See? He's even too lazy to listen" Ino said, pointing at Shikamaru who rolled his eyes and ignored the whole conversation. Tenten hugged her knees and rested her head on them, deciding to get some rest, but the freezing cold weather wasn't helping at all.

_'Aw, damn, I wish I brought my blank―'_ her thoughts were interrupted when her prayers were answered. She lifted her head to see Neji, draping a blanket around her.

"I brought an extra, since you always seem to forget yours" he said, his face still as stoic as ever. Tenten blushed, but smiled and nodded, "Arigatou, Neji"

"It's nothing" he mumbled, returning his eyes to the fire, wondering where Hinata and Kiba were.

A couple of footsteps were heard, almost shaking the area. Everyone looked at each other before looking at the direction of the sound. It was Akamaru, coming towards them at full speed; on his back were Hinata and Kiba. He came to a halt, causing Hinata to shriek.

"Oi, Sorry for taking long" Kiba said, hopping down as Hinata helped herself. Sakura's eyes widened once she saw the object in Hinata's arms.

"That's…" she mumbled, blinking a couple of times. All eyes went to her as Hinata walked towards her.

"..Naruto's jacket…" Hinata completed what she wanted to say, handing it over to her. "Akamaru found it. I think, somehow, Naruto-kun's helping us along" she said as Sakura reached out for it, holding it in her arms. The material was dirty but she never cared, she held it close and smelt it.

_'It still smells of you, Naruto-kun…'_ she thought, closing her eyes and burying her face in it. Everyone diverted their vision away from her, knowing that she probably needed some time alone.

"Alright, folks, it's time to get some rest" Kankurou said, clapping a couple of times. Everyone nodded and took their places. Tenten walked towards the tree and slept against it while Neji slept in the same manner on the same tree next to her. Shikamaru lied on his side, resting his head against his hand while Temari decided to use her own camping set. Kankurou chose to lie on his back, watching the stars while Lee fell asleep in an instant, mumbling some things about youth and Gai-sensei. Kiba and Hinata used Akamaru as a cushion since the latter obviously didn't mind the warmth. Ino buried her face in her knees while Gaara stayed up all night, his eyes diverting to Sakura every once in a while, noticing that she still held the black and orange material in her hands.

"We'll find him, Sakura-san…" he mumbled, making her look up at him, "…we'll find him" he repeated, nodding reassuringly. She nodded back and got up, holding her blanket in her arms and walked towards Lee, using the blanket to cover him before moving back to one of the trees, sitting down and covering her torso with Naruto's jacket, hoping to get some sleep.

* * *

"YOSHI!"

"Please, not the morning hyper-ness. I've had enough of him. Seriously, get him somewhere else" Kankurou whined, rubbing the back of his head

"It's time to get going, guys!" Tenten said, getting up and stretching. Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru and Temari got up. Gaara, who was already awake but still sitting down, shook Ino as the latter was still asleep.

"Ino, we're gonna leave you behind" he said, slowly getting up. Ino jerked her head up, blinking a couple of times. "I'm up!" she said before jumping up on her own two feet. While Kankurou, Tenten and Lee were arguing and Neji was trying to calm them down, Gaara looked around.

"Where's Sakura?"

Lee jerked his head towards Gaara once he heard the pink haired name. "What? What do you mean _'Where's Sakura?_'?" he asked, looking around.

"I'm here, guys"

Everyone heard her voice, causing them to look around. Sakura hopped down from nowhere and in front of Kankurou who was startled by her.

"Geez, woman, where do you pop out from?" he said, his left eye twitching. Everyone gaped at Sakura's new style.

"Sakura..." Ino mumbled in surprise, pointing at the jacket the pink-haired was wearing. Sakura nodded, smiling.

"I didn't think I would be able to carry it around, yet I obviously can't throw it away…" she said, burying her hand in her new jacket's pockets. "…so I decided to give it its place" she said, looking at everyone who had a pleased look on their faces.

"Anyways, since everyone's up and ready…" she said, walking ahead of the group, "…Let's go find Naruto-kun" she said, looking at the horizon and the village ahead of them. "Hoshigakure…" she mumbled, narrowing her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out.

The group was ready to take off in a matter of seconds, they all had a feeling that Naruto was truly in that village.

"Gaara…" he turned around, looking at the person who called his name. "Yes, Kiba?" he said, receiving a sheepish grin from the dog-boy.

"I want to apologize for snapping at you like that…" he said, rubbing the back of his head while his cheeks turned bright red. "…I mean… you were obviously leader material since you are Kazekage and―"

"―Apology accepted" Gaara simply replied and turned around to face the group. Kiba sighed, _'Guess there's no need to argue with him, is there?'_

"Alright…" Shikamaru exclaimed, resting his hands behind his neck. "…We're good to go, Gaara" he said, receiving a nod from the redhead.

"Let's go"

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes, being welcomed by warmth and what he could make out as the smell of lavender. Naruto thought he was dreaming, comparing the soft bed and calm atmosphere with what he had to put up with in the past couple of days.

He groggily pushed himself up, a sudden ache shooting up his head. _'Damn it'_ he mentally cursed, wishing that the situation would be all over soon.

"Naruto-kun, you're up. It's been a while, almost two days now"

His eyes diverted towards the doorway were Sasuke was leaning with a smirk on his lips. Naruto prayed -oh so deeply- to have the energy to punch that smirk off of his pale face.

"Sasuke!" He growled before pausing, looking around. Sasuke sighed and walked across the room while the blonde kept his eyes on him.

"You know…" he said, pointing at Naruto with his index finger and biting his bottom lip while narrowing his eyes, "…you're quite amusing, Jinchuuriki-chan"

Naruto gritted his teeth and gripped the dark blue sheets tightly, knowing that he can't attack him, knowing that he would control him.

"You're wondering how I control you, Naruto-kun, aren't you?"

_'How the hell did he know that?'_

Sasuke laughed before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, I'll tell you a small little story about a fox, a snake and a dragon…" Sasuke said, smiling. "…once upon a time, a yellow-haired fox and a raven-colored dragon became close friends, almost inseparable, since they both shared a similar childhood. They had that…interest in a certain tree and spent alot of time with it, protecting it with everything they had because it was too weak. Then one time, a snake appeared and broke the two apart…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, '_Is he telling me our story? And what tree is he talking about'_ he thought, hoping Sasuke would go on with the story, beyond the part with him and Orochimaru.

"…The dragon decided to follow the snake, since the latter promised the former with power to avenge the extinction of his race…" Sasuke said, looking at the ground with sad eyes. "…apparently, the snake was deceitful, and the dragon realized his mistake, but it was too late…" he continued, causing Naruto to widen his eyes.

_'Realized his mistake?'_ he repeated the words in his head. Sasuke moved his red eyes towards Naruto, noticing the look on his face.

"…The dragon was pissed, and ended up devouring the snake and ruling in his place..."

Naruto held back his breath, _'Does that mean…he killed Orochimaru?!'_ he thought, eyes widened. Sasuke smirked, "…The dragon ended up independent, working for no one. Yet he learned a couple of things from his former master. He got stronger, more powerful, more…sophisticated. He learned a couple of _Kinjutsu_ to assist him in times of need…" Sasuke said, chuckling slightly.

"K-Kinjutsu?" Naruto mumbled, looking down. _'So that's how he's controlling me…with a forbidden technique!'_

"…Unfortunately, the fox died but then it was brought back to life by Dragon-kun, and now he's being held―"

"―I know this goddamn part!" Naruto interrupted, causing the raven-haired to glare at him.

"…being held captive by his best friend, waiting for the other mates to appear so they, together, can all chop off that tree. Of course, the end of the story is still yet to be known" Sasuke said, getting up, stretching. "Ah, but this chapter of the story ends now" Sasuke said, smirking.

Naruto gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists as Sasuke slowly made his way out the door before halting and turning to face his friend.

"Dinner will be served in a few, have a good meal… might be your last" and with those words, the door was shut. Naruto narrowed his eyes and cursed.

"Please, everyone, don't come for me…"

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, long chapter with NO action whatsoever. Beside, WHY ARE YOU RUSHING?! I mean, the last couple of chapters are gonna be SO full of surprises and actions.**

**Anyway, folks, this is the last chapter of this month since I don't think I'll be able to update before my departure.**

**I really hope to get more reviews on this one before getting back. Thank you everyone for your support. The story is now on "HIATUS". **

**Ja ne, Thanks a bunch for the great support all the way. I promise you that I'll improve myself and come back with the greatest fight in history xP**


	12. Ch:12

**Reviews:  
**

Rickp2006: You'll see. Thx for your support all the way.

ANDREA1114: Thank you very much. Glad you liked it.

Weixuan18: As I said, everything will be explained. And thx for you asking that question, I'll be glad to clear things out. Yes, Naruto has nothing to do but to hear what he has to say. Thank you for your review.

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain: LoL, yeah, they're pretty hectic, but I like writing their part. Thank you for your support.

Shouri no hana: I'm sorry I can't 'rush' my writing, if THIS is considered art. Thank you for your review and for skimming the chapter. Sasuke is a lunatic, that's the point

KunoichiRena: Um, it's actually EIGHT months. Not ONE. Thanks for your review and I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Sakuralovewinsalways: Thank you for your review. And thx for the sticker _–sticks it to her forehead-_ thx a bunch, I'll try to update ASAP.

Hymir: I promise I'll try to update ASAP, and update yours as well. Thx a lot for your support, bud, thanks a lot!

Uzukun7: Yeah, I've been rambling over and over again, but you're wrong, thank you for your review.

Konoha Lotus: No, till January or probably June 2008. Thank you for your review and good guess.

* * *

**I apologize if this is taking too long. At least it won't take as long as my previous story. This chapter is THE chapter**

**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 12:  
**

Lee looked at the big sign at the beginning of the road and smiled, knowing that their days of travelling are finally over.

"Guys…" he started, "…we're here"

Everyone looked at the sign that said, 'Welcome to Hoshigakure'. Sakura, still burying her hands in the jacket, tightened her fists.

"We've wasted enough time. Let's go" Gaara said, entering the territory. Kankurou groaned, "Gaara, we don't even know where to start"

Gaara turned around and smirked, "Yes we do" he said, receiving a quizzical looked from, probably, everyone in the area. Neji narrowed his eyes and held Gaara by the arm, making the latter face him.

"Are you hiding something from us, Gaara?" he said, his lavender eyes narrowed at the red-haired as the latter jerked his arm out of the Hyuuga's grip.

"No, I'm not…" he said, taking a couple of steps forward. "…I've just made a couple of arrangements before heading out of Konoha" he said, looking back at his teammates while some of them had a dumbfounded look on their faces.

Gaara sighed and started walking off, "Let's go. We're already a couple of hours late"

They stopped in front of, well, your typical Japanese house. It wasn't too small or too big, it was regular. Ino sighed and crossed her arms.

"Hey, I thought we're staying in a place bigger than that. This one is totally not my―" she paused when she noticed the death glare Gaara was sending her way. "―please, never mind my rambling"

Gaara turned to face the house before taking a couple of steps towards it, climbing up the stairs before reaching in front of the door.

Kankurou groaned, "Gaara, where are we?"

"Would you shut it? You're ruining the moment", Tenten nudged him, causing him to give the girl one of his _don't-you-dare-do-that-again_ look. Gaara ignored the two and knocked on the door. A couple of minutes later, an old lady opened the door.

"Ohayoo, baa-san" Gaara started, nodding. The old lady smiled and took a step to the side.

"Please, enter, Gaara-kun…" she said, recognizing the red-haired ninja. "…she's been expecting you and your fellows for some time now."

Gaara nodded and got inside, taking off his sandals. Everyone followed, doing the same. The old lady stepped ahead of them and pointed at the long corridor.

"She's in there. Please, follow me"

Kankurou narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to Lee, "Oi, this house is pretty big from the inside" he said, sounding suspicious. Lee shook his head. "No, it's pretty fine. Did you know your brother was planning this?" Lee asked, receiving a shrug from the puppet master.

"Who the heck knows? He's the Kazekage. He does stuff we don't _have_ to know about" Kankurou said, following his brother into the house.

They continued to walk along the white and sky-blue colored corridor till they reached a room with traditional Tatami floors. A tall and slim figure stood in the middle of the room.

"Welcome, Kazekage-sama. It's a pleasure to have you in our humble house"

The Boys jaw-dropped and girls narrowed their eyes at the sight of a beautiful young woman dressed in a black Kimono, complete with a navy-colored obi, with a lower-back-length emerald hair; a part of it was tied in a small ponytail. She had dark purple eyes that were almost piercing at them

"Shiawase-hime…" Gaara started, nodding respectfully. The girl, known as Shiawase, smiled and ushered for Gaara and the others to sit down.

"…Thank you for your accepting to help us in our quest" he continued, receiving a nod from Shiawase. "I'm more than glad to help" she said, smiling genuinely.

Kankurou's eyes were widened to their limit, moving his eyes towards Kiba who had the same expression on his face. "She's beautiful!" Kankurou whispered, causing everyone in the room to look at him.

Shiawase looked at the ground; an apparent blush appeared on her cheeks. "I'm flattered, Kankurou-kun" she said, smiling sweetly. Kankurou gulped, his face turning red.

Lee narrowed his eyes, "Shiawase-hime, how did you know his name?" he politely asked, earning a smile from the princess.

"Gaara told me about you all." she said, looking at Gaara who had a small smile on his face. Ino –who was sitting in the back- was fueled with anger at the scene.

"Who does she think she is, taking Gaara away from me?" she mumbled. Apparently, Inner Ino was taking over. Sakura shook her head and watched as Gaara nodded and spoke up.

"Enough with the chatting…" he started, looking sternly at her, "…what do you have for us?"

She nodded, as she then kept a straight face, and got up, "Please follow me, Gaara-kun" she simply said, and walked out the room. Ino's eyes were on fire.

"Ha!! She's called him Gaara-kun, and she doesn't even know him!!" She whispered to Hinata who was shaken by Ino's sudden rage fit.

"U-Um, M-maybe they know each o-other from b-before. He's Kazekage a-and h-he must've met, um, l-lots of girls, err, and g-guys. M-maybe it's business r-relationship, nothing more. Or it c-could b-be…"

Ino kept looking as the girl tried to find an excuse while nervousness took over. "Ah, what do you know? You're too innocent for your own good, Hinata" Ino said, following Gaara and Shiawase as they disappeared into the other room. Hinata was dumfounded but followed the group.

The other room was dark, but it was quickly lit as Shiawase turned the lights on. Everyone was surprised to see a huge hall. In the middle was some sort of a table.

"What is that?" Kiba asked, pointing at the table. Shiawase smiled, "This is a three-dimensional hologram board"

"Whoa!" Kankurou exclaimed, looking at the table. "We don't have those in Suna― OUCHIE!" he exclaimed, getting nudged in the gut by Tenten.

"Shut up and let's see what she's got!" She exclaimed, looking at Shiawase and Gaara who stood in front of the table. In a matter of seconds, the table started glowing and a three-dimensional holographic map of the Geology of Hoshigakure appeared.

"In the last couple of months, we've noticed movement in the north side of the village, almost near the _Natsumiboshi Mountain_" she said, pointing at the said mountain. Shikamaru took a step closer, looking at the map.

"The mountain seems to contain lots of minerals deep underground" Shikamaru exclaimed, receiving a snort from Kankurou.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"It's said right here" Shikamaru replied, pointing at the readings beneath the mountain. Neji decided to step in.

"Then those movements could be cargos, moving the minerals from the mountain and exporting it"

Shiawase nodded, "That's what we thought at first, but I managed to spy on them" she said, pressing on one of the buttons that were on the panel in front of her. The map disappeared, in its place appeared some sort of a picture of a long haired person.

"Who's that?"

"We don't know" Shiawase exclaimed, causing Kiba to step forward. "What the hell do you mean we don't know? I assume Gaara brought us here so he could get information from you"

"Kiba-kun, calm down" Hinata said, holding his arm. Kiba looked at her and nodded, deciding to shut it for the moment.

Neji narrowed his eyes before moving them towards Shiawase, "So, is that all we have?"

She shook her head, "No…" she said, pressing another button that zoomed in on the picture, "…we got this insignia on the man's jacket. It was too familiar, I wonder if you recognize it"

Everyone took a close look at the picture, narrowing their eyes. Sakura was the first to notice as her eyes widened.

"That sign, it's…"

* * *

He was practicing with one of his men...a little bit aggressively, giving the latter a bloody nose and a black eye in the process.

_'That damn Naruto…'_ he thought, sending a punch towards the man's gut and another one in the jaw, sending him tumbling backwards. _'…he should die'_

He started sending other combos towards the man, totally forgetting that it was only a practice. _'But why can't I do it? Why can't I just slit his throat in his sleep? Why can't I just let Kyuubi out and finish everything?'_

He growled loudly and punched the man square in the face _-probably breaking his nose and a couple of teeth in the process-_ making him fall down to the ground, motionless. He panted, looking down at his bloody hands before he walked towards the man and kneeled besides him.

"Today isn't your lucky day, huh?" he said, wiping the blood off of his hands with the man's shirt before getting up.

"What a great parade, Sasuke"

He turned his head to the side, looking at the man who was standing in the shadows. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and snorted.

"What the hell do YOU want?"

The unknown man took a couple of steps closer to our antagonist with a smirk upon his face. "Can't I just say hello…" he said, appearing from the shadows, "…to my little brother?"

* * *

_CRASH_

was the sound that echoed in Sasuke's room as Naruto threw one of the chairs across the room and into the wall.

He screamed on top of his lungs, anger taking over as he grabbed the bed sheets and tore them apart.

"SASUKE!!"

* * *

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak up when…

_"SASUKE!!"_

He flinched, hearing his own name screeching as an echo across the silent hallways. "I have to check on him"

"He's fine, Sasuke-kun"

But he ignored and walked past him and out the door. The smirk upon Sasuke's older brother's face appeared while looking at the unconscious man.

"Oh my…" he mumbled, "…Outoto has a really bad temper, ne?" he continued, shaking his head before turning around and walking out the door.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Naruto growled, grabbing the nightstand up over his head and throwing it at the door which happened to open at the same time, revealing Sasuke.

"Oh, please" Sasuke said, dodging the flying object at him. "Naruto, what the hell do you think you're doing, trashing my room like that!?" he said in a calm tone. Naruto glared at him and grabbed another chair to throw it at him.

Sasuke did a quick flash-step and appeared in front of Naruto, holding both his arms with his hands. "Don't be foolish, Naruto-kun"

Naruto grimaced, annoyed of the sudden space vacancy. "Let me go, Sasuke. I want a chance to fight"

"You had your chance, and you screwed it" he said, narrowing his eyes, noticing that Naruto was trying to get out of his grip.

The blonde screamed and pushed Sasuke away, slamming the chair on his head, causing the latter to fall to the ground. Naruto, instead of running off, grabbed Sasuke and pulled him up.

"Control me, Damn it. STOP me like you always do!" Naruto yelled, holding Sasuke by the collar of his white shirt. The latter smirked and closed his eyes.

"What's with the sudden break―"

His words were cut when he found himself flying a couple of feet off, slamming against the wall. Naruto panted, anger growing inside of him.

"Why didn't you stop me? Why are you letting me beat you like this?"

Sasuke lifted his head, turned it to the side before spitting blood out on the ground. He pushed himself up with one hand and used the other to wipe the blood off his lips. _'Good punch'_

"Why, you ask?" he said, smirking. Naruto narrowed his eyes as his friend started laughing. "…because I don't want you to suppress your anger…yet" he continued with a sardonic smile on his face. Naruto tilted his head to the side, trying to comprehend what Sasuke had said.

"If you kept it in, you're gonna use Kyuubi's power and that's not what I want right now…" Sasuke said, tossing his hair to the side before raising his hands in front of him, ushering for him to come, "…C'mon, hit me with all you got" he said, nodding.

Naruto's eyes widened at his sudden change of actions. He balled his hands into fists and ran as fast as he could towards Sasuke, giving him a blow in the gut. Sasuke winced and spat blood.

The blonde gritted his teeth as the Uchiha started laughing with all his might. "Naruto-kun, you've lost it" he said, laughing. Naruto growled.

"TEME, SASUKE!!" He said, forming one of his famous seals. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he yelled, creating one clone to assist him in making Rasengan.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled, charging at Sasuke who stood, hands on his waist and a smirk on his face.

"Don't cross the line with that, Naru― OOF!"

Again, his words were cut when the Rasengan hit him in the chest, slamming him against the wall and breaking it in the process, sending both Sasuke and Naruto out the room.

"Sasuke-kun, you play it roughly, don't you think?"

Naruto, who was now laying face down while gasping for breath, pushed himself up and looked at the person. He gasped at the sight.

"I-Itachi…" he mumbled, eyes widened. The Older Uchiha smirked, "It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun"

"Bastard, stay out of this!" Sasuke spat, pushing himself up. Naruto sat on the ground, still surprised by the fact that Itachi was there, plus the fact that Sasuke was not injured by his Rasengan.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, have you forgotten our little deal?"

"Deal?" Naruto mumbled, looking between the Uchiha's. Sasuke snorted, "I shouldn't have made that deal with you"

"What deal…?" Naruto mumbled, moving his vision to the ground. _'I've become a part of a deal. Have I become a mere tool in their hands?'_ he thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Don't be irrational, Outoto-ku―"

"―Don't _'outoto-kun'_ me, Teme" Sasuke interrupted, receiving a snort from his older brother. "Look, I'm only here to―"

"―ENOUGH! SHUT THE HELL UP, BOTH OF YOU!!" Naruto yelled, pounding his fist to the ground, causing both Uchiha's to look at the blonde.

"Now, Naruto-kun, I'm hurt by your words…" Sasuke smirked, kneeling next to the blonde. "…why don't you let mommy and daddy talk a bit?"

"We're not…" Itachi said before shaking it off, "…whatever"

Sasuke looked at him and gave him a glare before moving his eyes towards the blonde who was looking as if fighting back the tears

"Naruto-kun…" he said, leaned over his shoulder, and whispered in his ear. "…Don't cry, it's not worth it"

Itachi snorted and mumbled, "I can't believe you're treating him nicely. You're more girly than girls themselves" and with that, he walked off.

Naruto raised his vision to meet Sasuke's sharp one, "H-How? D-Did you finally get the power you always yearned for? Didn't you want power to get Itachi and kill him?" Naruto asked; his eyes were tearful. Sasuke shook his head with a smirk on his face.

"No, I got half of it and yes, I _still_ want to kill him…" Sasuke said, smirking "…when the time comes" he continued, looking at the ground before looking up at Naruto.

"I'll tell you another bedtime story, ne?" Sasuke said, holding Naruto's chin with his hand. "You remember the last time I told you about the dragon, the fox and the snake, right?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, _'Is he playing games with me? Where is he going with this?'_ he decided to stay silent and nod instead, receiving a nod from Sasuke.

"Well, here's a part of the story that I had to skip…" he said, narrowing his eyes at Naruto's cerulean blue ones.

"…As I said earlier, the dragon devoured the snake and ruled his place. Before that, the Snake decided to move most of his abilities and power to the dragon's body. That's when the dragon realized that the snake needed a younger and stronger body so it could possess. The dragon –now having his own power along with the snake's- managed to kill the snake to prevent him from taking over"

Naruto's breath was held in his throat as Sasuke licked his lips just like the way Orochimaru used to. _'Is he…Orochimaru?'_

"That also explains how I managed to control you..." he said, smirking. Naruto narrowed his eyes, _'Kinjutsu'_

"…I didn't need a bijuu or _'the will of a branch-house Hyuuga'_ to get powerful…" Sasuke said, shrugging his shoulders. "…all I needed was a stupid master who was too ignorant to realize that I began plotting against him once I had gained his trust"

Sasuke got up and sighed heavily, "Now LOOK at what you've done!" he said, pointing at his chest which had a black soot mark on it. "Your Rasengan ruined my body"

"How the hell did you not get injured?" Naruto asked, knotting his eyebrows. Sasuke laughed and rested his hand on his waist.

"Orochimaru's Kinjutsu…" Sasuke smirked, "…I managed to steal one or two of his moves to help me in taking control of you…and All of Konoha"

Naruto's eyes widened, "I refuse to become a part of your plan"

"You said that once, you'll keeping saying it till you accept the truth, Naruto" he said, walking away. Naruto pushed himself up

"Aren't you gonna lock me up or something?" Naruto asked, making Sasuke stop. "No, I won't. Because no matter what you do, you'll never escape" and with that, the Uchiha walked off. Naruto leaned on the wall and slid down, sighing.

"Something must be done…" he mumbled, closing his eyes. "…I must get out of here"

* * *

"…a Pepsi sign?"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Kankurou's remark. "No, idiot, it's not a Pepsi sign!" Kiba replied, growling at the puppet master.

"Why does everyone hate me?"

"Isn't that the Uchiha sign?" Shikamaru asked, receiving a nod from Shiawase. "That's what I also came to after doing some research. Apparently, an Uchiha is around this village"

"Is it Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked; a hint of anxiety in her voice. Shiawase shrugged, "From the information I got. Uchiha Sasuke died a year ago or so…" she said, looking at the picture. Sakura, upon hearing those words, flinched, hugged herself and squeezed her eyes shut.

"…the only Uchiha that remained is Uchiha Itachi" She said, looking at Gaara who nodded. "So, that means that the person in the photo is Uchiha Itachi"

"Iie, it could be Uchiha Sasuke, since he's still alive"

Everyone paused and turned their heads towards the door where the source of the voice stood. Lee's eyes widened.

"Y-You…" he mumbled, narrowing his eyes. He was the last person Lee wanted to see. "…what are you doing here?"

Sai, who was leaning against the doorframe, smirked, "Hello everyone, Shiawase-san…" he looked at her and nodded respectfully, she narrowed her eyes.

"May I ask how you got in?" she asked, receiving what appeared as a fake smile from Sai. "The old lady got me in. She's really nice" he said, walking towards the group, towards a certain pink haired.

"Nice jacket, found it around here?"

Gaara's eye twitched, _'He's acting a bit strange, and why did he ask if she found it around the area? Does he know if Naruto's around? And I thought he was out of the search group.'_

Sakura blinked a couple of times and shook her head, "Not here, on our way here. Kiba and Hinata found it. It's what made us sure Naruto is around here" She said, hugging herself again. Sai looked at her and nodded.

"I see…" he said, looking up. He noticed the looks given to him by the others. "…what?!" he asked.

Kankurou narrowed his eyes, "You, mid-riff-shirted boy. How did you know we're coming to this village?" he said, pointing at Sai. The latter looked at his shirt before looking up at Kankurou with a smirk on his face.

"I was sent here to follow you guys. Apparently, Tsunade-sama doesn't trust you all, especially you…" he said, nodding his head towards Gaara, who narrowed his eyes. "…she thinks you might be plotting to take the best of the best in Konohagakure out with you to leave it vulnerable to your attacks"

Gaara knotted his eyebrows, "What?!" he spat, receiving a smirk from Sai. "Don't be surprised, Kazekage-sama. With a history like yours, I doubt how those shinobi even trust you"

Somehow, Gaara tried to remain calm, but as the gourd's cork began to be removed, Shiawase interfered.

"Gaara-kun, please, I don't want any quarrel in here" She spoke up, holding him back by the arm. He looked at her before moving his vision towards Sai, calming down.

"Anyway…" he said, "…I'm here to make things _right_ if they ever went out of order" he said, looking at Lee and raising an eyebrow. "Don't you agree, _Lee_?"

Lee was looking at him with narrowed eyes, wanting to stand between him and Sakura, keep him as far away from the Kunoichi.

"How about you spend some time here and rest a bit…" Shiawase interrupted, asking everyone as she felt the tension in the air. "…C'mon, the house is big for all of us" she said, nodding at Gaara who looked at her and sighed, nodding.

"Yeah, let's take a break, everyone" Neji exclaimed while everyone followed Shiawase to the other room and past Lee and Sai who were busy sending death glares to each other.

The room was very quiet, causing Lee to feel uncomfortable. He decided to break the silence.

"What are you really doing here, Sai?" Lee asked, clinching his fists. Sai smirked and looked at his friend.

"Say, Lee, I'm '_too busy on my ANBU missions that I cannot take care of Sakura-chan_?'" he said, in a sarcastic yet disbelief tone. Lee gritted his teeth, receiving a smirk from Sai as the latter started walking towards him.

"How did you know what's been said?"

"Tsunade-sama trusts me, and tells me everything" he said, his lips curving a bit, "I'm never busy when it comes to Sakura-chan" he said, coming face to face with an angry Lee. "I know what you're trying to pull, Le―"

"―what I'm trying to pull is to keep you away from her. I didn't like what you've done and I doubt you won't do it again if you had the chance" he interrupted, narrowing his eyes. Sai smirked and walked a couple of steps past the youth.

"Why do you insist on bringing him back when you can have her as your own? We all know you love her, Lee, you've always done. I've been told about your attempt of showing off in front of her in the forest of death a couple of years ago during the Chuunin exam, when you jumped into the midst of the danger just to save her…" Sai said, his back facing Lee's. "…Naruto is dead; bringing him back will do nothing"

"Bringing him back will make her heart settle down"

"He's freakin' Dead!" Sai said, turning around. Lee flinched, tightening his fists. "At least he will be put to rest, Sai…" Lee said, turning around. Sai shook his head in disagreement.

"…How can you act like that? He was your teammate!" he exclaimed, throwing his hand to the side. Sai looked at Lee with a smirk on his face, eerily reminding the youth of Sasuke.

"Get some rest, Lee…" Sai said, walking towards Lee and patting his hand on the latter's chest, smirking.

"…you'll definitely need it, all of you." and with that, he walked off out the room, leaving Lee alone and confused. His eyes automatically moved towards the Uchiha's picture, lying on the table.

"You know something, Sai-kun, and I will find out"

* * *

A couple of hours have passed and neither of the two said a word to each other. Shiawase decided to serve dinner since lots of stomach grumbles were heard around the room.

"Gaara-kun…" she said, causing the red-haired to look at her. "Yes?" he replied, putting his chopsticks aside.

"…I need to speak with you in private, if you may" she said, getting up. All eyes diverted to her and Gaara as the latter got up and followed her into the other room.

Kankurou snorted, "Here comes the dreadful love triangle" he said, popping a piece of sauce-dipped _Gyoza_ into his mouth. **(A/N: Gyoza is a type of Chinese/Japanese dumpling)**

Ino twitched at Kankurou's words, "What love triangle?" she said, looking past Temari and Tenten who were sitting between them.

"You know… You, Gaara and this Shiawase girl" he said, taking a gulp from his tea cup. Ino's eyes widened, "What do you mean by me and Gaara?" she exclaimed, dropping her chopsticks. Everyone was now listening to the conversation that Kankurou started.

"We all know what you two have done in the forest a couple of days ago…" he said, gulping another _Gyoza_ piece, "…You two made out"

"What!" Ino screeched while the others jaw-dropped as Kankurou calmly drank his tea with his eyes closed. He held the cup and opened one eye, looking at the blonde's blushing face.

"C'mon, Ino, don't deny it. You're crazy about him; he's crazy about you…I wonder how you two haven't had a child yet"

Ino's eyes widened before they rolled to the back of her head as she fell backwards with a loud thump, her face as red as a tomato. Neji, who was sitting across of her, shook his head.

"It wasn't that funny, Kankurou"

"Yeah, well, it was worth seeing the shock on her face" he said, drinking the rest of his tea before slamming the cup on the table. The room was silent as Hinata and Tenten were trying to bring Ino back to consciousness. Lee and Sai were still exchanging looks of hatred, while the others continued with their dinner.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Shiawase walked into what looked like her office while Gaara followed, closing the door behind him.

"What is it, Shia?" he said, giving her the name he sometimes called her with. She turned to face him and intertwined her fingers.

"There's something that I must tell you about…" she started, taking a deep breath and exhaling it heavily, moving her vision to the ground.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "What is it?" he said, taking a couple of steps towards her. "Is it something…that has nothing to do with the mission?" he said, noticing how pale the girl went.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but…" she said, looking up at him. "…I know where Naruto is"

Gaara's eyes widened as the new information slowly began to register in his head. "W-Wait, how do you know?"

"Because…" she said, closing her eyes, shaking her head and turning around. Gaara narrowed his eyes and walked towards her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Shiawase-hime…" he said, "…you can tell me"

"You'll hate me" she replied as her shoulders began shivering. Gaara tightened his grip on them, trying to calm her down. "I won't. Since I've been hated by everyone, I swore to myself that I won't hate anyone, no matter how bad the thing they've done is"

She sighed, sniffing. Gaara kept on holding her shoulders. "C'mon, you can tell me"

At that moment, she said a couple of words that he never expected to hear from her…

"Who do you think got Naruto into _Natsumiboshi Mountain_ in the first place?"

* * *

**Ha!! Major CLIFFIIIIIIIIIE!!  
**

**Muahahahahaha, I should leave you with a major cliffy. You're lost about Shiawase, ne? Well, just like Hinata explained at part of the story, Gaara and Shiawase met after Gaara became Kazekage during business relations between the two villages. So, I hope that explains everything. **

**As usual, things are gonna be explain in later chapters, such as WTF is Itachi doing in my story? **

**In the words of the great Naruto's Oiroke no Jutsu: **

**"O-ne-ga-ii… review" xD **

**Ok, I made up the last part **

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

* * *


	13. Ch:13

**I apologize for removing the reply for the reviews but FanFiction was giving me a hard time dealing with my story because everything was getting a bit messy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**UPDATE: I have edited some minor mistakes in the previous chapters, but nothing that would change the sequence of events. ****Now, the long awaited chapter! You guys have been waiting for this for the past 9 months so here ya go. I hope I don't fail you.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Previously:

_"Welcome, Kazekage-sama. It's a pleasure to have you in our humble house" __The Boys jaw-dropped and girls narrowed their eyes at the sight of a beautiful young woman dressed in a black Kimono, complete with a navy-colored obi, with a back-length emerald hair; a part of it was tied in a small ponytail. She had dark purple eyes that were almost piercing at them_

* * *

_The unknown man took a couple of steps closer to our antagonist with a smirk upon his face. "Can't I just say hello…" he said, appearing from the shadows, "…to my little brother?"_

* * *

_"Orochimaru's Kinjutsu…" Sasuke smirked, "…I managed to steal one or two of his moves to help me in taking control of you…and All of Konoha"_

* * *

_"…you'll definitely need it" and with that, he walked off out the room, leaving Lee alone and confused. His eyes automatically moved towards the Uchiha's picture, lying on the table. __"You know something, Sai-kun, and I will find out"_

* * *

_She sighed, sniffing. Gaara kept on holding her shoulders. "C'mon, you can tell me" . __At that moment, she said a couple of words that he never expected to hear from her…__"Who do you think got Naruto into Natsumiboshi Mountain in the first place?"_

* * *

**The Truth behind the lies, Chapter 13:**

Gaara's expression turned into a flabbergasted one as his eyes widened to their limit. "You..." he started, removing his hands from her shoulders, "…helped in bringing him here?"

Shiawase slowly nodded, "I had no other choice. They forced me to do it"

"Who are they? How were they able to force you?" Gaara said, turning her to face him. "What could they have possibly said to make you help them?"

"I have the authority in this area. Without my permission, they can't move around" She said, tears filled her eyes. "They threatened me. They threatened to kill my grandmother. She's all I have, Gaara!" She said, looking at the ground. Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"Who are 'they'?" he asked, receiving no response from her. A part of him was sympathizing with her while another part was fueled with anger. Disinterring someone's grave was definitely not a joke. He needed to get the information out of her and he needed them fast.

"Answer me!" he yelled, causing her to burst into tears. "Tell me who they are! Who are those who threatened to kill your grandmother?!" he said, holding her shoulders and shaking her. She lowered her eyes to the ground and shook her head.

"Gaara, please, don't make me!"

"Is it Sasuke?! Is he alive? Is it someone we've run into? Say anything!"

He raised her face to look at him, "Shiawase, tell me anything, Now!"

She looked into his eyes and narrowed hers, tears flowing out of them. "I-I can't. If I said anything, they…" she paused, furrowing her eyebrows. "…they would kill my grandmother!"

"She's safe with everyone now. They won't hurt her. Just tell me who they are!"

Shiawase looked around, avoiding the eye contact. She wanted to tell him and get it over with, but she battled with her sense of not telling him for the safety of her grandmother.

"If you can't say it, then at least give me a hint!" Gaara mumbled, letting her go. "Anything that'll help us to get Naruto back"

Shiawase looked up at him, "Gaara-kun" she mumbled, breathing deeply, "T-There's a snake"

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "a snake?" he repeated. "Does it have to do with Orochimaru?!" he asked.

"Orochimaru is dead! He killed him!"

Gaara's eyes widened, "You mean Sasuke?!"

Shiawase opened her mouth to answer back when all of a sudden, her eyes widened and her breath got caught in her throat. Gaara noticed a needle in the side of her neck, with a certain pattern he recognized. Shiawase's eyes rolled back as she became limb in Gaara's arms.

_'It's poisoned!'_ he thought as he quickly removed it while holding onto the girl, carrying her in his arms and rushing out of the room.

_'How could they have entered while everyone's there?'_ he said, running through the corridor towards the dining room where the others were.

* * *

They were still silently having dinner. Ino regained consciousness after a couple of attempts by Tenten, Hinata and Kiba.

Lee narrowed his eyes as Sai was comfortably reaching for the food before placing it on his plate. He dipped his food in his sauce before taking a bite with his eyes closed, as if savoring the taste. Sai opened his eyes to meet Lee's.

Their eyes met in what seemed like an inner battle. Both were looking at each other with subliminal messages in their eyes. Sai gave a small smirk while Lee did nothing.

Then suddenly, both eyes widened as a certain Chakura flow was sensed.

"Gaara-kun!"

Just as soon as Lee spoke those words, Neji was at the door, sliding it open. There stood Gaara with Shiawase in his arms.

"What happened?" Neji asked, remaining calm as he helped Gaara with the girl. Everyone was shocked to see fainted Shiawase.

"Updates" Gaara spoke, looking at the needle in his hand. As Neji and Lee made sure the girl was laid down carefully, they moved their eyes towards Gaara.

"What do you mean by 'updates'? And what's that in your hand, bro?" Kankurou exclaimed as he walked towards his little brother. The latter was checking the item in his hand.

"It's a custom-made poisonous needle. It's definitely local, I can tell" he said, narrowing his eyes, studying the item further.

"You mean there's some sort of poison in her veins right now?!" Ino exclaimed, moving towards the girl and checking her vitals. She jerked her head towards the group with a stern expression on her face.

"She needs an extraction process immediately!" She exclaimed, turning her attention back to the girl.

"We-we should move her to the next room" the old lady, Shiawase's grandmother, said as she looked at her granddaughter in a worry.

"Kankurou, give me a hand here" Ino exclaimed, receiving a nod from the puppet master as he carried the girl's limb body to the next room.

Sakura stood still as she looked at Ino and how she was being serious for the very first time. She realized that Ino was being a better medic-nin than herself. She lowered her vision to the ground.

"Sakura! I need your help here!"

Ino's voice brought her back as the pink-haired girl jerked her head up. "Yes?" she automatically responded before pausing for a second.

_'Why is she calling me?'_ she thought, blinking a couple of times. "Sakura! C'mon!" Ino said before disappearing into the other room. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded to herself.

"Alright" she mumbled, following.

* * *

"I did the analysis with baa-san right here…" Gaara said, walking into the room where everyone gathered.

It had been about thirty minutes that Ino and Sakura began their treatment on Shiawase. Gaara has been interested in the needle that struck her in the neck. Having studied it then, he has come to tell his comrades about it.

"…and this needle is a lead to the whereabouts of its owner" he continued, receiving a response from the Hyuuga.

"What do you mean? What did the analysis say?"

"This needle is made out of a local type of trees that grows in one specific place at the Natsumiboshi Mountain, which approves Shiawase's statement of their whereabouts" Gaara said, handing it to Neji who studied it further.

"So, there we are, one step closer, no?" Kiba spoke, receiving a nod from the redhead. "Definitely" He said, looking at the needle in Neji's hand. "That needle is made out of pine wood, which only exists in Tsubasa Region on Natsumiboshi Mountain"

"So, it narrows it down to a small area" Kankurou, who has returned from helping with Shiawase, exclaimed, sitting up on his knees. Gaara looked at him, closed his eyes and shook his head negatively.

"I'm afraid not. It's a vast forest area. We could get lost if we weren't careful" he continued, receiving a sigh from Tenten.

"I believe we should head out as soon as possible. We can't waste anymore time" she exclaimed, receiving agreement gestures from everyone else.

Ino and Sakura returned, looking a bit tired. "We have managed to extract the poison. Unfortunately, the poison had reached some of her muscle tissues…"

Gaara widened his eyes, "What do you mean?!" he asked, taking a step forward. Ino and Sakura exchanged looks before Ino started to talk.

"While Sakura was healing Shiawase, I studied the poison and…" Ino said, resting her hands on her waist. "…we couldn't find a cu―"

"―Shiawase, is she going to be alright?!" he interrupted, causing everyone to keep their eyes at the two.

"You want the truth, Gaara?" she said, taking a step closer. "If we don't manage to find the antidote for that poison soon, her muscles will be damaged and she won't move an inch. If it went on, it'll reach her brain tissues and she'll be dead within the next… forty-two hours" She said, narrowing her eyes. Everyone was surprised how Ino managed to get a grip on her feelings and say those words to Gaara the way she said them.

Gaara lowered his wide-open eyes to the ground, shaking his head. Ino walked to him and rested her hand on his shoulder,

"Whoever made that poison knows what they're doing. That poison knows its way around for sure" Ino said, noticing that Gaara was in a shock and that she was too cold.

"I'll stay…" she said, causing everyone to look at her. "…I'll try to find the antidote with what I brought of herbs…" Ino continued, smiling sadly. "…I'll try my best to save her, Gaara-kun. You…" she said, looking around, "…All of you, you just focus on finding Naruto and getting him back. That's the main objective, right?" she said, receiving a nod from everyone.

Gaara looked up at her and nodded without saying a word. Ino nodded and went back to Shiawase. The red-haired ninja took a deep breath and turned to the group.

"Let's go"

* * *

"Fine, now what?"

Kankurou exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head as everyone was standing in the middle of the woods of Natsumiboshi Mountain's Tsubasa Region.

Kiba walked up to Gaara who was looking at the item in his hand. "Any clues about where we're going?"

Gaara sighed and looked at the male Hyuuga who looked back at him, "Neji, we need you on this"

Neji nodded, "You got it…" he paused, forming a seal and closing his eyes. "Byakugan!" exclaiming, he opened his eyes and activated his Kekkei-Genkai.

Moments later, he deactivated his Byakugan and stood still. Everyone stood anxiously waiting for any updates.

"I found the source of that needle you have in your hand. There's a tree with kunai marks and scratches not so far away; a couple of miles North West"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Have you made sure nothing is on the way there?" Shikamaru asked, stepping up. Neji shook his head. "Yes, I have. Yet…" he said, looking in the distance. "…it was a bit too quiet"

"Of course it's too quiet if the enemy lies here! Just like in the movies. One minute it's too quiet then BAM; blood splatters all over the place"

Everyone, for a minute, thought that if Kankurou stopped at his first sentence, he would've sounded a bit smart. Well, we're talking about Kankurou here.

"He's right. Kankurou's got a point" Tenten said, "If it's too quiet then that could be a sign" she said, looking at Kankurou who was happy someone actually agreed with him.

"Alright, let's head out then" Kiba said, leaning on Akamaru. "Let's head North West. Perhaps that tree would tell us something"

* * *

"I did what you asked for, Sasuke"

"Is she dead?" Sasuke replied, tapping his fingers onto his the table and listening to the voice on the other side of the phone. "She'll be dead in a matter of days"

"I want her dead in a matter of hours! She should've never spoken a word" Sasuke replied, sending his fist down on the table.

"I don't get why you want her dead when she's helping them get where you are and that's what you want"

"I want them to use their own abilities into finding me, not with any outsiders' help. I want to see how smart Konoha's got" Sasuke said, "Now; I have to check on Naruto. He might end up killing himself. You, keep me updated"

"Roger that"

With those words, Sasuke hung up and got off his chair, slowly walking outside the room. What he didn't notice is Itachi, who was outside the window, leaning against the all.

"Things have got out of control, Sasuke…" he mumbled, "…you've really crossed the line"

* * *

"See? The road is clear" Lee said, talking to Kankurou who still thinks it's too quiet "It's not too quiet as you thought. There are animals and birds and trees and crickets and all kind of ―"

"―we already know that, bowl-head!" Kankurou replied, turning to face the others. Tenten was checking the marks on the tree, trying to figure out any clue to lead them to the enemy. She looked up and shook her head. "I've only got normal kunai knives' marks on here"

"Gaara, Shikamaru, did you two figure anything already?"

Gaara, who was looking through the riddles again, looked up and shook his head. "I'm looking at one of the riddles…" he said, "_Where the sun doesn't set, where the stars shine bright, nine flames of fire burn through your sight_…" Gaara continued, turning towards them. "We've been through the first two conditions. We're east and in Hoshigakure…but the nine flames of fire? It doesn't make much sense"

"How many nines are there in the world?" Shikamaru thought, sitting down on the ground. Everyone wondered and thought deeply while Gaara continued on scanning the riddle.

"Nine months? Nine hours? No" Neji spoke, noticing that the others weren't even listening as each and every one of them was counting the nines.

"Kyuubi…"

Everyone looked at Sakura who was in a trance. "Kyuubi Kitsune..." she mumbled. At that moment, everyone realized that Sakura was in another moment of telepathy with Naruto. Lee walked towards her and shook her.

"Sakura, what are you talking about? Oh my youth, you're cold!" Lee said, draping his arms around her. "Tell me what's going on"

Shikamaru widened his eyes, "We're missing out the obvious! It's Kyuubi! Nine tails!" he continued, getting up. Kiba narrowed his eyes, "but that doesn't make any sense!" he exclaimed, moving his eyes towards Sakura. "Maybe she would tell us"

* * *

Sakura was looking around her, noticing that the fog had already spread and the cold, dry feeling had returned. It hurt her so much she wanted to cry.

"Naruto…" she mumbled, ignoring the pain, "…I know you're here. Talk to me" Sakura continued, looking for any sign of the blonde.

"Sakura, I'm right here"

Before his words were spoken, she had already seen him. Sakura froze, not knowing what to say again. She noticed that this time, his injuries were less, yet he still looked even more fatigued than ever.

"Look for the flames…" he said, "The flames in the heart. You're one step closer to finding the truth" Naruto continued, turning around and walking away.

"Naruto-kun! Wait!" Sakura exclaimed, walking after him, only to find herself in Lee's arms.

* * *

"Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed, holding her as she was close to falling to her knees. Sakura looked around, noticing that the fog was just an illusion.

"He…he said look for the flames…" Sakura said, looking at the others. "The flames" she repeated, making Gaara scan the riddle.

"Nine flames of fire..." he said, looking at Sakura. "Where? Where should we look for the flames?" Lee asked, still holding her for support. Sakura shook her head and sighed.

"Look for the flames in the heart…" she said, "that's what Naruto told me; to look for them in the heart"

Everyone paused, trying to figure out which heart they're talking about. For a moment, they felt lost.

"Um…"

Hinata's voice brought everyone back from their thoughts and caused them to look at her. "…Gaara-kun said that the Tsubasa Region is a vast area, maybe we haven't searched it thoroughly" she continued.

Kankurou smirked, "Weird-eyes number two is correct. We should probably separate and look for―"

"―it'll be a waste of time" Temari exclaimed, "No one knows what's going on with Naruto at the moment. The sooner we get to him, the better"

"What do you suggest then?" Shikamaru said, walking towards her. She smirked, "I thought maybe the Hyuuga's could be of a help if they tried looking harder. Maybe that's why Konoha's falling back on this mission" Temari's words fueled Tenten who paced towards her.

"Why you little―"

"Temari, Tenten, enough!" Kankurou exclaimed. Both girls separated; Temari crossed her arms and faced the other way while Tenten went back to examining the tree "We don't have time for inner fights, alright?!" he continued, looking at the Hyuuga's. "Please, Neji, Hinata. Look one more time"

"Alright" Neji said, nodding at Hinata as they both activated their Byakugan and searched the area. A couple of minutes passed and neither of them spoke a word.

"There's a torch pole a couple of kilometers ahead…" Hinata exclaimed, "…another one to the North-East. Both are unlit"

"I got one here at South and South-West…" Neji said, looking deeper. "…it's all around us" he continued, deactivating his ability. "We've got eight unlit torches on each of the cardinal and ordinal direction"

"Torches can be lit, giving us flames, right?" Kankurou said, "The riddle says nine, not eight" he continued, crossing his arms.

"One's missing" Temari exclaimed, looking around, "Where could it be?"

_Click!_

Tenten paused, "you guys…" she said, looking at them. "…I think I triggered something"

The faint sound of turning cogs was audible. Tenten narrowed her eyes, hoping she didn't trigger something bad. Everyone began to wonder where the sounds are coming from. Then all of a sudden, Temari jumped backwards.

"Something's happening" she exclaimed, looking where she stood. Everyone looked as small hole began to form. Moments later, rose from the ground what Hinata and Neji could recognize as the same unlit torch pole.

"That's the ninth, huh?" Shikamaru chuckled lightly, "So, if we light those things. We're going to find Naruto?" he said, looking at Gaara who was thinking deeply.

"No, but we'll get closer to finding him" Lee replied, making sure Sakura can stand on her own.

"What are we waiting for? " Kankurou said, slamming his right fist into his left palm. "We're lacking Ino, which now makes us nine ninjas; one for each torch" he continued, walking towards the newly discovered torch pole while getting a fire tag out of his pocket. He attached it to the torch and formed a seal. A couple of seconds passed before the torch was successfully lit with a small spark.

"That ends my part of the mission" Kankurou said, dusting his hands and sitting down on the ground. Temari chuckled.

"Kankurou, you've always been and always will be a slacker" she said, shaking her head. "It's about time we get this done"

Everyone nodded in agreement. The formation was made. Neji decided to go North, pairing with Tenten who was heading North-East. Temari chose to go East, followed by Shikamaru who will separate from her to go South-East. Lee was chosen to go South with Kiba who went South-West, leaving Hinata to go West and Gaara North-West.

"Everyone, ready?" Gaara exclaimed, receiving agreement sounds from the team.

"Keep your guard up and make sure you get this done. We want to find Naruto fast! If you face any obstacle, remove it if necessary. Kankurou, stay with Sakura and make sure she's safe"

"You got it, bro" Kankurou said, already by Sakura's side, and gave the group a thumb up.

"We're meeting up here after lighting the torches" Neji exclaimed, receiving nods from the others.

"Let's head out"

* * *

"They're on the move. They found the hidden torch and they're getting closer"

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "This is even better than I ever expected" he said, leaning back in his chair.

"They're going to find you, Sasuke. They will kill you if you weren't careful"

Sasuke laughed out loud, "You're wrong if you think this is over…" the raven haired ninja exclaimed.

"The game has only begun"

* * *

**Finally!**

**I felt that this chapter wasn't as good as the previous ones. Anyway, please review and constructive –and only constructive- criticism is always welcome.**


	14. Ch:14

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**_Author's note:_** I apologize for the delay. I have been busy applying for colleges. Good news, I have found a decent college. Bad news, I might have less time to update the stories. But for now, please enjoy.

* * *

**The Truth Behind The Lies, Chapter 14:**

Naruto lowered his vision to the ground, rubbing the effect of Rasengan out of his right palm. He kept thinking about the plan Sasuke had for him.

"What are you up to, Sasuke?" Naruto mumbled, closing his eyes. "Why do you want to destroy Konoha? Do you really think we left you behind? Is that why you want to kill Sakura?" he asked himself those questions over and over again, hoping to find an answer.

"Why is Itachi on this?" he asked himself, opening his eyes. "What kind of a deal would possibly make Sasuke halt his revenge?"

Millions of questions raced through his head, and each one of them reminded him of Sasuke's words: "Eliminate Haruno Sakura"

Those words fueled him with anger. Naruto vowed --from the moment he and Sakura met and even after they'd become closer-- that he would take care of her and protect her from harm.

Naruto got up and started pacing, slipping his hands into his pockets. Once he did that, he paused, noticing that there was something in there. Realizing it was a piece of folded paper; he pulled it out and slowly unfolded it, reading its content:

_'Stick to what you hate, know what's best for you.'_

Suddenly, Naruto felt a certain presence in the room, a presence he knew that wasn't very friendly to him in the past. He quickly slipped the paper back into his pocket and turned his face towards the door

"What do you want?" the blonde asked, receiving a chuckle from the grey-haired ninja. "I just came to check on you, Naruto-kun" he said, walking in with a tray. Naruto looked at the tray and noticed two cups; one had what appeared like orange juice and the other had something greenish.

"Drop the act, Kabuto. We both know that you don't give a damn about me" Naruto said, turning his back to Kabuto who put the tray in the table.

"That's not true. I brought you something to drink" he started, smirking, "Well, Sasuke's orders" he continued, crossing his arms. Naruto snickered, while his hand tightened its grip at the paper in his pocket.

"Why don't you cut it out? What do you want?" Naruto asked, turning around while his eyes were focused on Kabuto's.

"You know that Sasuke-kun isn't going to spare your life, don't you? You think he still considers you a friend?" Kabuto said, giving him a sardonic smile. Naruto ignored and moved his eyes to the tray.

"Orange or Kiwi?" Kabuto asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer before pausing for a moment, remembering the note on the paper.

"Kiwi should be fine" he said, narrowing his eyes as Kabuto handed him the cup. "You have a weird taste, Naruto" he replied, grabbing the orange juice for himself.

"Sasuke's still my friend…" Naruto replied to his previous question, "…no matter who he is. He's the brother I never had" he continued, eyeing the cup in his hands.

_'Whoever wrote that note knows something'_ he thought, raising his vision at Kabuto who was sipping his orange juice.

"You can keep saying that, Naruto-kun, but when he ends up killing you…" he paused, smirking, "…you'll know that I'm right"

Naruto turned around and looked out the window overlooking the forest. "After what I've been through in this place, your words don't mean shit to me"

Kabuto's laughter emitted in the room, "You'll be dead before your friends arrive, which won't be that long" he said, his right hand reached behind his back into his pouch. A kunai knife was pulled out and ready for an attack.

Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to face Kabuto, "T-They're coming for me?" he asked, eyes still focused at Kabuto.

Kabuto slowly nodded, and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the grey-haired ninja's widened.

"C-Can't…" he mumbled, trying to take a breath. Naruto stood still as the cup dropped from Kabuto's hands and shattered. His Kunai have been revealed and dropped to the ground as well. "…W-What's…going on!" he continued, dropping to his knees while gasping horridly for air.

The medic-nin tried to comprehend what had just happened. Whatever he'd consumed began to take effect. The lack of breath, the blurred vision and the over-taking paralysis were all side-effects of the poison he was supposed to have made.

"W-Who…" he mumbled, before gasping, remembering a certain person passing by him in the corridors. He remembered that person who stopped him for a small chat. He knew at that moment, it was that person who, somehow, slipped that poison in the juice.

"Y-You…!" Kabuto mumbled, his eyes rolling to the back of his head before dropping on the floor, face down, in front of Naruto who was shocked by the whole scenario.

The blonde ninja collapsed at the couch next to him, his eyes still glued at the dead body of Yakushi Kabuto.

"Stick to what you hate…" Naruto mumbled, looking at the kiwi juice in his hands. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "B-But…what in the world am I supposed to do now?"

"Nothing, really, all you have to do is act like nothing happened"

Naruto jerked his head up, looking in the eyes of the last person he wanted to see.

"Itachi..."

* * *

Kankurou kept pacing back and forth, waiting for the others to return. He moved his eyes at Sakura who was looking at the ground. He realized it'd be best if he started a conversation rather than being of no use.

"Sakura…" he started, causing the pink-haired Kunoichi to look up at him, "…I have a question for you. It might be a bit weird but I just can't help it"

Sakura cleared her throat and got up, dusting her clothes off. "Ask away" she replied, smiling at him. Kankurou nodded and turned around.

"We've all known from a very long time that you had a crush on Sasuke…" he said, knowing that the girl behind him winced at the name of the Uchiha.

"…was Naruto just a back-up? Or did you really love him?"

Sakura's eyes widened, not expecting Kankurou to ask such a question. She gritted her teeth and spat back, "I love Naruto!"

Kankurou turned around to face her, "There's no need to be that defensive. You guys might think I'm slow but I get the drift of certain things. I just found it was a bit awkward that you suddenly had that interest in Naruto. He's a great guy and all, but still"

"It's none of your business, Kankurou!" She replied, "The heart wants what the heart wants"

"I've heard that you and Naruto hooked up after Sasuke died. It's too much of a coincidence that you switched―"

His words were cut short when the ground began to shake, causing Sakura to trip. "What's going on?!" Sakura yelled out, looking at Kankurou who was trying to keep himself balanced.

"Did they manage to light all the torches?" Kankurou asked back, receiving a shrug from Sakura. A few moments later, the shaking ground began to dissolve, causing both Kankurou and Sakura to look at each other before running the opposite way.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Kankurou said, holding the fatigued girl by the hand and pulling her along. On their way, they were faced with Lee.

"Lee! Go back! The ground is gonna swallow us!" Kankurou yelled, causing Lee to widen his eyes. He automatically carried Sakura on his back and ran as fast as he could along with Kankurou.

A few moments, the shaking stopped, causing both Lee and Kankurou to stop and turn around.

"Lee, let's go back. Maybe that quake caused something"

"C'mon!" he replied, making sure Sakura's placed safely on his back as she securely tightened her arms around him.

* * *

While the ground was shaking, Uchiha Sasuke was chuckling evilly, "What do you know?" he said, taking a sip from his tea. "They're already here. Then, I guess it's time" he mumbled, putting the cup on the table. Sasuke got up and walked out the hall before walking towards the room Naruto was in.

* * *

"W-What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, looking between Itachi and Kabuto's body. Itachi said nothing as he looked at the dead body. "Naruto-kun, he crossed the line…" Itachi said, "…All of them… Things had to stop"

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get it! Are you with me or against me?!"

"I don't take sides, Naruto-kun. I just hate irresponsible people, and Sasuke is one of them" Itachi continued, walking towards Kabuto's body.

"He tried to kill you, Naruto-kun"

"Why would he do that?" Naruto replied, looking at Itachi with narrowed eyes. Itachi chuckled, "He wanted to avenge Orochimaru. He never really liked Sasuke" he continued, clearing his throat. "He was too loyal to him. Besides, he thought Sasuke's treatment to you was too much. My brother never treated his subordinates the way he treats you" he continued, smirking.

Naruto nodded, "and how did you know about that thing?"

"He just told me, in the corridor. He has been watching you for a while. So I got a bit worried" he replied, glancing over at Naruto before moving his eyes back at Kabuto.

"You see, Kabuto here never expected his demise to be like this. That was his problem, he trusted everyone after joining Sasuke, because Sasuke has given him that false sense of security" Itachi explained, using his foot to push Kabuto's body over.

"I learned that even around family I should never, ever, let my guard down. This world has become an unsafe place and the survival is for, and only for, the fittest"

Naruto moved his eyes from Itachi towards the cup in his hands. "Was it you that gave me that note?" he asked, looking at Itachi who nodded. "Yes. I was afraid you were illiterate, but I'm glad that―"

"You saved my life"

Itachi paused, having no expression on his face whatsoever. "I can't afford getting you killed, Naruto, or she'll kill me"

Naruto looked up at him with a quizzical look on his face, "Who?"

Itachi turned around, looking at the ground before moving his eyes towards Naruto. "Tsunade-sama"

* * *

Everyone arrived back where they were, looking at the newly formed hole in the ground. A staircase made from the ground led to the darkness beneath. Gaara was the first to speak. "I think our part of the riddle is already done" he said, looking at the hole.

"What makes you say that, Gaara?" Shikamaru said as the red-haired looked at him.

"Our Riddle burnt into thin air a moment before the earthquake that caused this" he said, nodding with his head towards the hole.

"Then, this probably happened right after we finished lighting the torches, am I right?" Kiba said, looking at everyone. "This is definitely not natural" Temari exclaimed, resting a hand on her waist. "Shouldn't we go down?"

"What if it's a trap?" Kankurou replied, "…I mean, it almost swallowed me and Sakura whole!" he said, pointing at the hole. "I won't go down there unless I make sure what's on the other side, or… bottom, whatever"

"You call yourself a ninja?" Kiba exclaimed. "To think that you're a Jonin…"

Kankurou gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists, "What is that supposed to mean?! Ha?!" he said, standing nose to nose with Kiba who simply had a grin on his face.

"It means you're a chicken, Kankurou, get over it" Temari said, resting her hand on her waist. "Staying here and not getting in the way is the best thing you can do for us"

Kankurou widened his eyes and sighed, "Fine, I'm going down with you all. Though I ain't responsible for what will happen to you down there"

"Yup, spiders will walk all over us, no, Kankurou?" Tenten exclaimed, wiggling her fingers creepily on his back.

"Stop it, woman"

Shikamaru rested his hands behind his back and sighed heavily. "Can't we avoid all this drag and get down already?" he said, looking at the faces of his teammates.

Gaara uncrossed his arms and nodded, "Yes, we'd better hurry" he said, getting closer to the beginning of the staircase. _'We're so close, Naruto-kun, so close'_

"Wait…" Lee started, "…something's not right" he continued, getting everyone's attention. "What could not be right?" Neji replied, narrowing his eyes at his teammate.

"S-Sai…" he said, "…isn't with us anymore"

* * *

"The rumbling above is a sign that they're here, Sasuke"

The Uchiha smirked, "I know. I'm simply surprised they haven't figured you out already, ne, Sai?"

Sai looked at Sasuke with no expression on his face. "One of them is definitely determined to figure me out." He said, walking past Sasuke. The latter turned around and looked at him, "Oh? And who would that be?"

Sai narrowed his eyes as an image of a certain bowl-cut-haired ninja appeared in his mind. "Rock Lee." He replied, causing a fit of chuckles to emit from the Uchiha. "Then I'll leave him to you" he said, walking out of the room.

"You'll do it, won't you?"

Sasuke halted in his place, tilting his head to the side. "Just make sure you finish your part of the deal" and with that, the Uchiha walked off. Sai sighed and made sure his gear is in place. "I'll make sure of that, Sasuke…" he mumbled, "…but if you don't finish your part, you'll have to deal with me"

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened as Itachi's words repeated over in his head "T-Tsunade-sama?!" he mumbled, "What does Tsunade-sama has to do with this?!"

Itachi sighed and looked up, remembering the conversation that occurred between him and Tsunade. "It was before I appeared to Sasuke. I felt that he really crossed the line and that I had to do something… I contacted Tsunade, telling her of Sasuke's plans"

"What is the plan, Itachi?! I have to know!!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sasuke told me my mission was to kill Sakura! Is that true?"

Itachi smirked, "Killing Sakura, huh?" he sarcastically remarked, looking at the ground and shaking his head. Naruto got up, walking slowly towards the Uchiha.

"What?" he asked, "It sounds that what Sasuke said isn't true"

"Why would he kill someone so essential?" he said, looking at Naruto, "Sasuke wants her here! He needs her to re-build our clan! The Uchiha Clan"

"What do you mean?!" Naruto asked, coming face to face with him. "What do you mean he needs her?!"

"If he needs to revive an entire clan, he needs a wife. Sakura is the one he chose…" Itachi said, "…to bear his children"

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. His eyes widened to their limit as they were filled with anger and rage of the statement he just heard. "What you're saying is absurd! Sakura will never be his!"

Itachi chuckled and crossed one arm on which he rested his other arm, rubbing his chin. "Here's a known fact in the place, Naruto…" he said, pointing at him. "…Sasuke is the one in charge here. Didn't you get it yet? He was always a bitter kid, thinking that I got everything from my father. He hated not getting what he wanted. Now it's happening. He's getting everything." Itachi said, uncrossing his arms and turning around.

"Kabuto here was one of his followers, just like everyone else, a mere tool. He would've died sooner or later. Sasuke had already killed a couple of them. I just made his death a bit easier, perhaps merciful" he said, looking at the dead body.

Naruto's eyes moved in the same direction before moving it to the other side. He tightened his grip around the cup in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut before abruptly turning around, throwing the cup towards the wall. Itachi turned around at the sudden crash that occurred.

"This is insane!! It's not normal! Sasuke has got to stop!" screamed the angered Naruto, breathing heavily as Itachi felt an abnormal increase in his chakura.

"What have I been saying all this time?!" Itachi spat back, grabbing Naruto's shoulders. "Now shut up. Your screaming will bring him here any second now!"

"Well, well…"

Naruto looked past Itachi's shoulder while the latter closed his eyes. Sasuke stood in the doorway with narrowed eyes and a smirk on his face. "…I see you two have grown closer"

* * *

"Anyone got a light?"

"You smoke, Kankurou?!"

"No, I don't, crazy woman!" Kankurou exclaimed, looking at Tenten who shrugged him off. "I'm just asking for it because it's too dark"

Kiba rested his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Why don't you use your ninja instincts?" he said, opening one eye to see Kankurou gritting his teeth at him.

"Can you two be a bit quiet? We're probably in the enemy's base!" Lee exclaimed, standing between Kiba and Kankurou.

A few moments later, Gaara realized something. "It's a dead end"

"What?!" Neji replied, looking around. "How can it be?!" he continued, receiving a pat on the back from Kankurou. "It 'can' be. It's not impossible. Um, Maybe you can use your ninja instincts?" he said, mimicking what Kiba said.

"Actually, maybe you should." Temari said, "Perhaps we can find a way with his Byakugan!"

_Woof, woof._

"Akamaru, did you find something?" Kiba exclaimed, patting his partner on the back. Akamaru woofed a couple of times, causing Kiba to narrow his eyes.

"What do you hear?" he exclaimed, causing everyone to have quizzical looks on their faces. Kankurou went quiet, trying to hear anything. Akamaru barked again, leaving Kiba a bit confused.

"He hears a tune"

"I don't hear a thing!" he exclaimed, looking at his teammates who all nodded. "I don't hear a thing at all"

"We don't hear it, but Akamaru-kun does…" Hinata said, "Could it be ultrasound?"

"What do you mean Ultrasound?" Kankurou asked, crossing his arms. Lee stepped in, clearing his throat.

"It is a sound pressure with a frequency much larger than the normal human hearing, rating between 20 Hertz to 20 Kilohertz and―"

"I know what ultrasound is, Geek!! I was wondering why someone would use ultrasound in a place like this!" Kankurou spat back while Lee stepped back.

"We can't hear it…" Neji repeated what his cousin said, "…it does go with the silent melody that was mentioned in one of the riddles" he completed, causing Gaara to nod slowly in agreement.

"Kiba, where does the melody lead to?"

Kiba looked at Akamaru as the latter barked and walked in a certain direction. Kiba followed and realized it was another dead end.

"Where're ya leading us, Akamaru?" he said, looking at his partner. The canine used his head to move Kiba's hand towards a certain point to the wall. Hinata stepped up and activated her Byakugan.

"This wall is hollow. There's a narrow road behind it" she exclaimed, deactivating her kekkei genkai. Akamaru barked and kept ushering at the wall.

"You mean we're breaking that?!" he said, receiving a bark from the dog. Kiba tapped on the wall and sighed. "Although it's hollow, it doesn't seem to be easily broken…" he exclaimed, "Alright, Akamaru, let's do it!"

"Wait, Kiba-kun, they'll hear us!" Lee exclaimed, walking towards Kiba who abruptly turned towards him. "They already know we're coming! Who gives a damn?"

Kiba lowered himself on all four, "Juujin bunshin" he said, transforming into his animalistic form. Akamaru, upon transforming himself, jumped on Kiba's back. "Gatsuga!" Kiba yelled out, slapping his hands with Akamaru's and twirling at an increasing pace, causing two simultaneous whirls of their own bodies to dig through the walls.

The others either used their arms to cover their eyes or turned their heads to the side to avoid being hit by the flying pebbles.

A few moments later, Kiba and Akamaru stopped, both panting and gasping for breath. "There ya go!" he said, pointing at the hole in the wall. "There's your way in"

"Kiba!"

They all turned towards Gaara who was holding the riddle in his hands. All of a sudden, it burst into flames. "Your part of the riddle is over as well" he said, letting go of the riddle as its ashes dropped to the ground.

Kiba grinned and rested his hands behind his back, "Aren't I glad?" he said, turning back towards the hole. "Shall I?" he exclaimed, walking in. Everyone slowly followed, hoping to find Naruto as fast as possible.

Lee balled his hands into fists. Two issues were going through his head; Sai's attitude and Naruto's retrieval. He secretly hoped they weren't relevant. Although Sai was some sort of competition to him, he didn't want to think of having him as an arch enemy.

_'Don't do anything stupid, Sai-kun. I don't want to think that I have to hurt you somehow...'_

* * *

"Sasuke…" Naruto mumbled, balling his hands into fists. Sasuke smirked, walking into the room with his arms crossed, looking at Kabuto's dead body.

"Oh, boy…" he started, looking between the two and the body, "…What do we have here? A dead body of one of my apprentices" he continued, "Any idea who did this?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes as Naruto looked at him. "It was I who killed Kabuto. You have a problem with that, little brother?"

"What is your excuse for killing him?"

"Don't act like you're interrogating me, Sasuke!" Itachi exclaimed and narrowed his eyes as Sasuke's turned red. "He tried to kill Naruto so you should be thankful" he exclaimed, turning around and glaring at Naruto who remained quiet.

"He was going to die anyway, and Naruto's dead to everyone." Sasuke said, looking at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I guess you just saved him the trouble of being torn to shreds"

Naruto looked at Sasuke with disgust as he said those words. "But, someone has got to be torn instead" he said, standing a couple of feet from Naruto.

"Your friends are here"

"And I believe you won't do anything to stop them?" Naruto spat back, taking a step closer. The anger within him wanted to be unleashed, but something stopped him from doing so.

"No, I won't. I'll let someone else handle them" he said, smiling deviously at Naruto before turning around and walking towards the door.

"Oh, and Itachi…" Sasuke said, turning again to look at his brother. "…make sure you clean the mess you've made. I hate the stench caused by that thing" he continued, pointing at Kabuto's body. Itachi looked at his brother with narrowed eyes.

"You've got it, brother" he replied, glaring at him as he walked out the door. Once he made sure Sasuke was out of hearing range, Itachi faced Naruto.

"If he's right about the others getting here, then it's dangerous. He'll kill them" Itachi said, rubbing his chin. Naruto took a couple of steps towards him.

"What did he mean by letting someone else handle them?" he asked, receiving no response from Itachi.

"Sasuke doesn't tell me anything, I doubt he ever would. He's just waiting for the opportunity to kill me. He still hasn't forgiven me"

"Who would? You killed your own family in front of him. That's unforgivable" Naruto said, walking past Itachi and sitting on the bed. "Let's forget about this for now. What if Sasuke finds out about your plan?"

"He won't…" Itachi replied, "… and I know you won't tell… or will you?"

"I won't. I just want to get out of here" Naruto said, sitting on the bed and burying his face in his hands. Itachi nodded, carried Kabuto's body and started walking out the door, wondering if his plan to finish Sasuke's plan off any time soon would work.

Naruto wanted to run out, kick the heck out of Sasuke and relief his pain. Knowing that Sakura was chosen for that horrible act made him boil.

"I will never give up on you, Sakura. But…" he said, closing his eyes. "Don't come, Sakura, don't save me"

* * *

"Naruto-kun…"

Lee looked at the pink-haired kunoichi who mumbled the name of the blonde. He narrowed his eyes, knowing how hard it was on her. She held her hand against her chest and sighed.

"He doesn't want us to save him"

Everyone stopped and was surprised by Sakura's remark. One of the guys in the group has had enough. "No offence, Sakura, but you're not right in the head. Naruto-kun is dead, and we'll retrieve him no matter what. He's not, in one way or another, telling us not to save him" Kankurou exclaimed, crossing his arms before getting punched in the arm by his sister. "Try and be a little nicer, will ya?"

"I'm telling the truth! She's only come here to hold us back with her visions and stuff…" he exclaimed, noticing the look on Sakura's face. "…I'm not going to base our search on some visions of a lost love seen by a heart-broken girl; it just doesn't make sense anymore"

"Kankurou! Enough!" Gaara said, holding his brother's arm. Kankurou gritted his teeth, jerked his arm out of his brother's grip and turned his back to the group.

"I'm out of here"

"You're just leaving like that? Leaving your friends behind?!" Tenten exclaimed, "You're more stupid that I thought!" she continued, shaking her head in disbelief. Kankurou turned to face her, "At least I do not believe in visions of a dead person."

"Kankurou, listen" Gaara started, "If you don't believe in her visions, at least stay with us for Naruto. He needs us all to get him back" he said, walking towards his brother. "We're dealing with something bigger than all of us. Whoever disinterred Naruto's grave has got through the gates of Konoha, and has got through every single Jonin in the area. Let's just hope we don't get killed in the process of saving him."

Kankurou narrowed his eyes and diverted his vision to the ground. Gaara stopped in front of him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We need every single one of the group. We're not strong unless we're united, you get me?"

Kankurou nodded slowly, unable to look his brother in the eye. He turned to face the others. "Alright. We're heading out again. Beware of any traps"

Everyone nodded. Kankurou stood still as everyone started walking along the road. He lifted his head up to see Sakura looking at him with a sad look on her face. She shook her head and walked off. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I screwed up big time, didn't I?" he mumbled, following the group deeper into the hideout.

* * *

**_Chapter is done. Again, forgive me for the delay._**

**_Please review._**


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